Wanna Bet?
by CherryBlossomFairy
Summary: Non-Mass AU: Naruto wagers with Tsunade that he can get Sasuke and Sakura together within a month. If he wins, he will be granted the status of jonin. If he loses, he has to take on D-rank missions for a month. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

Tsunade sighed as she looked at the mountain of paperwork on her desk. It was going to be a long day, but it would be even longer since her trusty assistant Shizune was not there to help her. Shizune was in Suna for the month training medics on how to use a new sterilizing jutsu. This trip was important in maintaining the strong alliance between Suna and Konoha, but Tsunade found herself longing for Shizune's ability to nag her into her doing her work.

Some sake could help Tsunade relax and make the paperwork more bearable, but as Shizune pointed out many times, it was unprofessional to drink on the job. However, Shizune's absence was the reason for all of this incomplete paperwork. It had _nothing_ to do with Tsunade's laziness. Any guilt Tsunade had about drinking dissolved, and she took out a sake bottle from her hidden stash under a false tile under her desk. What Shizune didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Tsunade finished off the bottle in record time; she was really stressed. Another bottle would surely be ok.

Just as the blond Hokage reached for a second bottle, the number one knucklehead ninja burst into her office yelling about something. She groaned and felt her blood pressure spike at the sight and sound of the blond brat.

"Naruto! What are you yammering about? I have tons of paperwork to do!" she bellowed.

Naruto crossed his arms and demanded, " Baa-chan! Make me a jonin!"

Tsunade laughed at his request. She knew this outburst was coming. She had promoted Sasuke to jonin last week, so she assumed Naruto was upset about having a lower rank than his rival.

"And why should I do that? Jonin are elite ninja that possess a high level of skill and professionalism."

"Well, I'm plenty skilled! I took out Pein, and I am totally professional! I have to put up with Sasuke and Kakashi all the time. It takes tons of professionalism to do that!" Naruto argued while flailing his arms.

"The fact that you're in my office demanding me to promote you says otherwise about your professionalism! " Tsunade fired back.

"Ugh baa-chan! Come on!" he whined.

Tsunade glanced at the clock on her desk and saw how little time she had left to do her paperwork. She needed to wrap this up quickly and get Naruto out of her office. Not to mention, her patience was wearing thin.

"Naruto, I have work to do, so get out of my office! I will think about promoting you once you show some more maturity."

Naruto sighed in defeat, but he suddenly perked up as he got an idea.

"Fine. Fine. I'll leave, but how about we make a bet?" he suggested with a mischievous grin. He knew that the Hokage loved to bet, so she wouldn't be able to resist his offer.

Thoroughly intrigued and somewhat intoxicated Tsunade inquired, "Hmm. What's your proposition?"

"I wanna bet that if I can get Sasuke and Sakura together within a month, you have to promote me to jonin."

The blond sannin paused and thought for a moment about his offer. She loved bets, but she also had a personal interest in this one. She wanted her dear student to find happiness, and it was high time for her to get some action. Additionally, that Uchiha brat might be less broody if he had Sakura. He could be a serious headache sometimes. Thus, she concluded that it was in her best interest to agree. Besides, she was already planning to promote Naruto next month, so he might as well do something good for her.

"Well, what do I get if you lose?" she asked.

"I'll do D-rank missions for a month!"

Tsunade chuckled. "Alright, we have a deal! Now scram before I change my mind!"

Naruto bolted out of the office with an elated grin and headed to his apartment. He was going to become a jonin and get his best friends together! He was a little surprised at how readily Tsunade had accepted his bet, but he suspected that it might have something to with her wanting Sasuke to be a little less moody and her apprentice to relax a bit. It was also common knowledge that the blond Hokage had a mild gambling problem. Walking down the streets of his beloved village, the blond nin was decidedly confident in his ability to win the bet with the legendary sucker.

Now that Naruto had been dating Hinata for over a year, he thought of himself as a relationship guru. In his eyes, he and Hinata had a perfect relationship. There was lots of laughter, romance, and commitment. They had never been in a fight, and every day together was a new adventure. Surely with his expert knowledge and experience of romance, he could get Sasuke and Sakura together.

As Naruto headed back to his apartment, he began plotting exactly how to get his two best friends together. He figured that he could get Sakura on board pretty easily because she obviously still had feelings for Sasuke even if she wouldn't verbally admit it. Officially, Sakura had long given up being a Sasuke fangirl in order to focus on her medical nin studies.

Although, Sakura blushed anytime Sasuke took his shirt off during training, and she was especially gentle when she healed him. Naruto never got that type of treatment from Sakura. Honestly, most of his injuries were from Sakura. She just didn't appreciate his pervy ninjutsu, as one ought to. Maybe, she would appreciate a Sasuke inspired pervy ninjutsu! That was an idea Naruto would definitely explore later.

Now, Naruto needed to find a way to get Sasuke interested in Sakura. If Sasuke pursued her, she would accept him. It was apparent that Sasuke cared for Sakura as close friend. He always protected her and reminded her to rest whenever she worked consecutive shifts at the hospital. While his interest in Sakura appeared to be strictly platonic, Sasuke wasn't close with any with females except for a few female relatives, so surely he had taken a special interest in Sakura. But how was he going to get the anti-social and practically asexual Uchiha interested in a girl in a month?

The blond jinchuriki groaned as he suddenly realized how difficult it was going to be to get his friends together. To him, they were an obvious match. Sakura could lighten up Sasuke and keep him in line while Sasuke could mellow Sakura out. The pink haired kunoichi had a tendency to get stressed out frequently due to her status as a jonin and head of the hospital. Sasuke also had a lot on his plate with missions, clan affairs, and the police station.

Honestly, both of them could use some romantic company to relax a bit. Sasuke would be less moody, and Sakura would yell at Naruto less. It seemed like a beneficial outcome for everyone – assuming his plan worked.

If his plan didn't work, Sakura would punch him into next week and Sasuke would chidori him. Not to mention, he would be stuck doing D-rank missions for a month! In hindsight, maybe he should have just bribed Tsunade with some sake. His pride would certainly take a hit if he had to take on such trivial missions for a month because Sasuke would never let him live it down. He had only been a jonin for a week, and he was constantly rubbing it in Naruto's face. Naruto shuddered at the thought of the plan going haywire. He really hoped that he could get his friends together without losing his pride or his limbs.

Reaching his apartment, Naruto headed straight to the kitchen. Plotting to get the most temperamental girl and the most anti-social guy in Konoha together was going to be an arduous challenge. Naruto couldn't work well on an empty stomach, so he dug into his leftovers from Ichiraku.

While he consumed his pork miso ramen, he decided to take the plan one step at a time. Romance took time. He didn't expect his friends to jump into bed together immediately. His first step would be to get Sasuke to Sakura as a woman, not just a teammate, before their upcoming escort mission next week. It would be a short mission to escort a daimyo's relative to a play in the Land of Spring. The mission would just be Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura since Sai, Yamato, and Kakashi were all on other missions. It would be the perfect opportunity for Sasuke and Sakura to have some alone time. In order for them to take advantage of that time, they would need to be interested in each other. Naruto decided to commence the first part of his plan at tomorrow morning's training session. Giggling to himself, he mused that at least he was going to have an interesting month.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

It was the perfect day for training. The skies were clear, and the sun shined brightly enough to ensure visibility but not enough to blind. A beautiful pink haired woman stood on a red bridge basking in the beautiful weather. She leaned against the bridge and crossed her arms as she waited for her teammates to arrive. Ever the punctual one, she was there ten minutes early.

Today, she donned black shorts and a red tank top while her long pink locks were in a side braid. Summer had just begun, so she had forgone her usual and more modest training garb. Maybe Sasuke would take notice. She shook her head as she reminded herself not to be unrealistic. Her Uchiha teammate held nothing but feelings of friendship for her. Sure, he could be a little overprotective when guys flirted with her, but that could be chalked up to a big brother complex. All of her other male teammates acted in a similar manner and disliked any guy taking an interest in her. In fact, they all had a bit of a big brother complex when it came to her, so it was only natural for them to be a little over protective.

However, at 20 years old and with many of her friends pairing off, the medic-nin found herself wishing for a special someone. Shikamaru and Temari had gotten together several years ago. Kiba was seeing some cat girl. Neji and Tenten were engaged. Naruto had finally returned Hinata's feelings, and they had been dating for over a year. Hell, even Sai was dating Ino. Out of the Konoha 12, Sakura and Sasuke were the only single ones, save for Shino. Sakura had always only had eyes for Sasuke and even now despite his obvious romantic disinterest. She knew that she should find someone else, but she couldn't imagine herself with anyone but Sasuke. He was smart, witty, loyal, and one of the most talented ninja she knew. Not to mention, he was immensely handsome with his silky raven locks, muscled body, and well-defined jawline. She swore that it was sharp enough to cut marble.

Sakura had abandoned her romantic pursuit of Sasuke after her first chunin exams in order to focus on becoming a better ninja. She realized that she was falling short as a ninja because she was distracted by Sasuke, and she needed to hone her skills in order to better protect those close to her. Those chunin exams had shown her how important her teammates were to her and how much practice she needed. She couldn't keep relying on Sasuke and Naruto to protect her. She wanted to protect them with her own power.

It was shortly after Tsunade's installment as the fifth hokage that she began studying under her. Sakura then developed her medical ninjutsu, taijutsu, and immense strength. Now, she was the most skilled kunoichi in her generation and perhaps in the village since she had surpassed Tsunade. Currently, she was head of the hospital and carried out jonin level missions, so she was rather busy. Still, it would be nice to have someone to dote on her with compliments, dates, and gifts. The pink haired kunoichi longed for someone to be her romantic companion, but the only person that came to mind was Sasuke. There was no way he would be interested in her. He had never made any indication that he saw her as anything but a close friend.

The pink haired ninja decided not to dwell on her feelings of unrequited love but focus on the upcoming week. Today's training session would consist of her, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Naruto as the other Team 7 members(Sai and Yamato) were out on missions. Sakura was looking forward to a good training session because she had been cooped up in the hospital for the past week. She needed a break from paperwork and nothing could relieve her stress more than a good sweat session with her best friends.

Sakura lifted her head and saw her two teammates racing towards the bridge. She sighed as she heard them bickering. It was only eight the morning, and they had already begun. It amazed her that two of the most talented ninja in her village acted the age of their sandal size.

"I'm first teme!" the blond proclaimed as he reached the bridge.

"No, my toe was at least a quarter of an inch in front of yours dobe!"

They both looked at Sakura as if she was supposed to be the judge.

"I'm not getting involved. I've had a long week, so my patience is running very thin," she stated as she crossed her arms.

Both of her teammates grumbled but complied because they didn't want to get on her bad side. Her teammates knew that getting on her bad side either involved a week in the hospital or getting pulled off the mission roster for two weeks. Sakura smirked since her disciplining method was having its intended effects. Being the head of the hospital and possessing sannin level strength had its perks.

After about an hour of waiting, the infamous copy-nin appeared from a cloud of smoke. He gave a half-hearted excuse as to why he was tardy which involved helping an old lady carry some groceries up a mountain. Predictably, Naruto yelled at Kakashi, Sakura rolled her eyes, and Sasuke grunted in annoyance. As time went on, Kakashi's excuses became less and less believable.

"Alright, let's just get to training. It's been a week since I've been able to do so." Sakura commented.

Kakashi nodded in agreement and gave the group instructions.

"Today we will break up into pairs. Sasuke and Naruto will work on taijutsu in the left field while Sakura and I work on chakra control and balance by the waterfall. After three hours, we will swap locations and training exercises."

Before parting ways the grey ninja added, "Naruto and Sasuke, no ninjutsu, genjutsu or sharingan. Also, don't destroy the field or each other."

"Yeah, yeah. I won't mess up pretty boy too badly. I wouldn't want him to lose his precious fan club," Naruto replied with a smirk.

Sakura and Kakashi laughed while Sasuke glared at his blond best friend.

The members of Team 7 split up and went to their respective training areas. Naruto and Sasuke moved to the left field and readied themselves to spar. Naruto was especially looking forward to training alone with Sasuke, so he could get the ball rolling on his plan. It also helped that Sakura was wearing her form fitting summer uniform.

"You ready to spar?" Sasuke asked with his cocky smirk.

"Believe it! I'm totally going to kick your ass since you can't use your sharingan." the blond taunted.

"I don't need it since you can't use your ninjutsu, and I'm obviously going to win since I'm the jonin," the brooding Uchiha commented as he sprinted towards Naruto to make the first move.

"Whatever! I'm still going to kick your ass!" the blond growled as he blocked his opponent.

**X**

Half way through the sparring session, Naruto resolved to officially put operation 'Get Sasuke with Sakura', or G.S.S for short, into motion. Sasuke was so going to owe him for this especially since he was being a total jerk about his promotion to jonin.

Blocking a roundhouse kick from Sasuke, Naruto decided to mention Sakura's change in attire. It would be a subtle way to draw Sasuke's attention to Sakura's more feminine assets.

"Hey teme, did you notice Sakura's new uniform? It's pretty revealing, so we're going to have to fend off more fanboys," the blond said casually as he tried to dropkick his raven haired friend.

"Dobe, you have Hinata, so you shouldn't be looking at Sakura like that," Sasuke spat jumping back several feet.

"I wasn't! I'm just saying that we need to have our guards up to protect her. Her outfit is just bound to attract a lot of attention. Right?" the blond argued. He threw a few punches that Sasuke successfully evaded.

"I suppose we will have to be extra vigilant," Sasuke replied.

He was sympathetic towards Sakura's fanboy troubles as he had many, many annoying fangirls. These fangirls and fanboys were extremely persistent and didn't know how to give up even when it was painfully obvious that they didn't have a chance. Their attention was nothing but a nuisance and could be disruptive.

Anytime Sasuke went to the hot springs, he had to mask his chakra, lest a fangirl sense him and decide to join him. He learned that lesson the hard way. Shivering, he thought back to when Naruto's cousin Karin had visited and used her sensory skills to track Sasuke. She had entered the bath that Sasuke was in wearing nothing but a tiny white towel and her glasses. She had unsuccessfully tried to seduce him. Thus, he left and cut his bath short. There was no way in hell that he would ever date a fangirl much less someone related to Naruto. His gene pool would be forever tainted, and he'd actually be related to that knucklehead.

Naruto inwardly snickered because he just got Sasuke to agree that Sakura's outfit would garner more attention than usual. Now, he just needed to continue to nudge Sasuke toward Sakura.

The next few hours passed, and the two pairs switched locations and traded exercises. After they finished training, they all met back in the middle field and decided to go to Ichiraku for some well-deserved ramen. Kakashi had a mission the next day, so he did not join the group.

Walking over to the restaurant, Sasuke observed Sakura while she chatted with their blond friend. Naruto was right. Her outfit would attract an unfortunate amount of attention. Her fitted red tank top showed off her ample bosom and flat stomach while her black shorts displayed her long legs and pert behind. Sasuke's neck reddened slightly as he took notice of his teammate's enticing physique. Damn Naruto for bringing up Sakura's attire. She was a good friend and like a sister, so he shouldn't be having inappropriate thoughts about her.

He had always found her pretty, but she had become a mature and very feminine women in the past three years. It was getting harder and harder for him to ignore, especially when she wore clothing like that. As an Uchiha, he should be able to control himself. He didn't have time to waste on lustful feelings when he had his clan, the police station, and jonin responsibilities to attend to.

Sasuke's leering did not go unnoticed by Naruto. The meddlesome blond grinned inwardly as he concluded that his first step of the plan had gone according to plan. Sasuke was definitely checking Sakura out.

The team outing to Ichiraku was quite fun for Naruto. He loved having all of his closest friends together at his favorite restaurant. The meal was full of ramen and jokes. Even Sasuke had laughed a few times.

Currently, Naruto was recounting his latest date with Hinata where he tried to take her rowing on the river. Being the number one knucklehead ninja, Naruto misread the map and ended up paddling over a waterfall which caused the boat to capsize. He drenched himself, Hinata, and Hinata's delectable picnic food. Thankfully, his girlfriend was extremely forgiving and understanding about the incident. Naruto also gave her an eyeful when he stripped down to his boxers in order to dry his clothes.

"I think taking off my shirt made up for the whole thing. Hinata-chan got pretty flustered, so I think she enjoyed the view," Naruto bragged as he slurped his noodles.

"Oh please. Hinata-chan only forgave you because she is the most forgiving person in the village. Don't get cocky!" the female ninja countered as she rolled her eyes at Naruto's arrogance.

"Hmp. I don't know how she puts up with you dobe," Sasuke added with a smirk.

Naruto laughed and agreed. "Some days it feels like that, but I'm lucky to have found an amazing girl to share my life with. I definitely won't do anything to screw this up." He was eternally grateful for Hinata's presence in his life and would do anything to make her happy.

Sakura could hear from Naruto's gentle tone how much he loved Hinata. She was a little taken aback by his reflective response, but dating Hinata had helped him mature.

"That's really sweet Naruto. You and Hinata make a wonderful pair. It's great that you've found someone," Sakura replied wistfully. She looked down and picked at her noodles as she was reminded of her lack of romance.

"Thanks Sakura-chan! It's pretty awesome. I'm sure you'll find someone too!"

"I didn't mean it like that" she defended quickly. "Besides, at this rate I won't. Between my hectic work schedule and you boys beating up anyone who shows interest in me, I'm going to die a crazy cat lady," the pink haired nin lamented.

"We just haven't come across anyone worthy enough for you. Trust me, you'll thank us later!" Naruto replied with his classic grin.

Sasuke nodded and silently agreed. Just any guy wouldn't do for Sakura. She deserved someone who would respect her and treat her with great care all the while being able to cool her temper and help her relax. None of the hooligans or creeps that had shown interest in her were up to scratch. They ranged from civilian patients to slimy friends of the daimyo. They all were undeserving of his precious teammate.

"We'll see about that. Let's pay and head out. It's getting late, and I have a morning shift tomorrow at the hospital," Sakura replied.

Team 7 paid and left Ichiraku. Naruto tasked Sasuke with walking Sakura home since he claimed that had to meet up with Hinata later. It was really just an excuse for him to make Sasuke and Sakura spend some alone time together. Sakura put up resistance since she was perfectly capable of walking herself home, but Sasuke being a gentlemen due to his mother's influence wouldn't take no for an answer. After pleading and some puppy dog eyes, Naruto got his way and Sasuke walked their female teammate home. Secretly, Sakura was grateful to have Sasuke walk her home since she had scarcely seen him in the past few months. He was extremely busy with clan affairs in preparing for his brother's upcoming wedding and appointment as clan head. There were many changes and transitions to be made since Itachi would take over as clan head while Sasuke would take over as police chief from his father.

The walk home was comfortable and peaceful. The street was lined with lights while the starry sky displayed a full moon. Sakura sighed contently as she observed the midnight sky and felt the light breeze caress her skin.

"It's a beautiful night. It's so calm," she commented softly.

"Hn. It helps that the dobe isn't here," her ebony haired companion replied.

She giggled and said "Regardless, starry nights are always nice and peaceful. By the way, congratulations on being promoted to jonin and police chief. I'm sure your family is very proud."

"Aa. It's a great honor."

"That's really great Sasuke-kun! We will have to have a proper celebration. I know you're not one for social events, but I think this calls for a party."

Sasuke sighed. He detested large gatherings. All of the small talk and formalities were meaningless to him. He would much rather just go out with Team 7 or have a family dinner with his close relatives.

"I don't have a choice since my mom has already mentioned hosting a special dinner for it. I'm sure you and the dobe will be invited."

"I'd love that! I'd never pass up an opportunity to enjoy your mother's cooking!"

"So you only want to go to enjoy my mother's cooking?" he said deadpan.

"No, no! I just mean that it's an added bonus to celebrating your promotion," she sputtered with pink cheeks.

Sasuke chuckled at Sakura's defense as he admired her face which was beautifully illuminated by the moonlight. Her cheekbones were quite pronounced, and her emerald eyes glittered. He couldn't help but notice her beauty. She seemed to notice his intense gaze on her and further reddened.

"What are you looking at? Do I have something on my face?"

Sasuke's ears reddened as he coughed and quickly turned away.

"No, I was just looking at the moon behind you. Anyways, we're at your apartment. I'll see you for the mission next week. Goodnight."

Sasuke disappeared in a flash before Sakura could reply. As she entered her apartment, she thought to herself how peculiar Sasuke had just acted. They were strolling along talking normally, and then all of a sudden Sasuke starts staring at her. Next, he left abruptly when she questioned him. There was no way he was checking her out. She probably just had something like a bug on her face, and he didn't say anything to avoid embarrassing her. The pink haired nin resolved to chalk it up to that and headed to bed. She had three surgeries during her morning shift tomorrow, so she needed to be well rested. She didn't have time to stay up all night analyzing Sasuke's behavior. Been, there, done that, and not doing it again. Sakura had learned from her early genin days that trying to understand Sasuke's behavior was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. It was next to impossible. Sasuke was only understood when he wanted to be except for Naruto who seemed to be the only one aside from Itachi that understood Sasuke completely. Sighing, Sakura changed into her pjs and got into bed.

Meanwhile, a blond head perked up from behind the roof. Naruto was quite pleased with his progress. He had stealthily arranged for his two friends to have some alone time together while he gathered intel, and they seemed to be warming up to one another. He noticed two things. First, Sakura was definitely still into Sasuke, but she was clearly in denial. Second, Sasuke's apathetic and disinterested exterior was cracking. It was only a matter of time before snapped and did something like kiss Sakura. That would be exciting to see!

Patting himself on the back, the blond knucklehead bounded back to his apartment. Now, he had to figure out how to make the most of Team 7's mission to the Land of Spring next week.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: **

A week later, the three original members of Team 7 met at the village gates to greet their client. He was the youngest son of the daimyo, and they would be escorting him to a play in the Land of Spring. From the mission assignment file, the mission seemed rather simple. However, due to the high status of the client, the mission was classified as an A-rank mission. The Hokage had appointed Sakura as team leader for this mission which was not unusual if Kakashi or Yamato were absent. Sakura seemed to be the only other ninja capable of keeping Naruto and Sasuke in line. Not even Itachi could handle the troublesome pair.

Once, he had been tasked with leading a mission with the two to steal back a classified scroll from an enemy village, and it went terribly awry. Sasuke and Naruto argued so much that Itachi recovered the scroll himself because getting the two to cooperate was too difficult. After that particular incident, Tsunade decided that if Naruto and Sasuke were to go on a mission together, either Sakura, Kakashi, or Yamato had to be team leader. The pair was unstoppable when they worked together, but it was hell when they didn't.

After waiting a few minutes, their client arrived in an immaculate horse drawn carriage. It was made of mahogany wood and had an intricate design of flowers and vines engraved in ivory on each door. The client sat inside the carriage as red silk curtains hid his face. One of the carriage drivers dismounted from his seat to open the carriage door.

A tall figure gracefully exited the carriage and walked toward the three ninja. Overall, his attire was pretty average except for the large emerald on a gold chain which hung around his neck. Carrying a brown leather satchel, he wore an ivory dress shirt and black riding pants tucked into black leather boots. He was rather attractive with a well-muscled body and handsome face. He had dark brown slicked back hair and deep violet eyes. He looked to be about the same age as his escorts.

Being the team leader, Sakura bowed and introduced herself to their royal client first.

"It is an honor to meet and escort you, your highness. My name is Sakura, and I am the team leader of this mission. I can assure you that you will arrive at your destination safely," she stated with a polite smile.

"Thank you, and it is a pleasure to meet you. You need only call me Ren though," the man proclaimed as he took Sakura's hand to his lips and kissed it gently. "I didn't know that I was being escorted by such a beautiful woman."

Sakura flushed and cleared her throat. Hopefully her teammates didn't lash out since this was the daimyo's son.

"These are my two teammates who will also be escorting you," she said in an effort to change the topic.

Resisting the urge to pummel the creepy client, Naruto flashed him a friendly smile and introduced himself.

"Hi, I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I'm the strongest ninja around, so you're in good hands."

Ren smiled and shook his hand saying he looked forward to their journey together. The other member of the group seemed rather quiet, so Ren took the liberty of introducing himself.

"You must be Uchiha Sasuke. I met your cousin and brother when they ran security for the Winter Solstice ball at the palace last year."

"Aa."

Ren stuck out his hand which Sasuke shook firmly while smirked as if he had accepted a challenge. He wasn't afraid of some stuck up royal, and he certainly wasn't going to let this slime ball continue to flirt with Sakura. Ren smirked at Sasuke as well.

Sakura rolled her eyes at the arrogance radiating off the two men. She called everyone over to the grass in order to discuss some important matters pertaining to the mission.

"Everyone sit under this tree, so I can give you some important information. First, we will be traveling in disguise as merchants. No one should be too suspicious since large events like the play in the Land of Spring attract many merchants and vendors."

"Sounds good to me!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Second, here are your cloaks. Make sure none of your weaponry" looking to Sasuke and Naruto "or jewels" glancing at Ren "are showing," she instructed.

"Yeah. yeah. We got it Sakura-chan. It's not our first mission under cover," the blond ninja complained.

"I know, but I can't be too careful with you two," Sakura fired back.

Before Sasuke or Naruto could argue, Sakura told them about the rest of the journey. "Anyways, traveling to the Land of Spring should take about a two days. Today, we will travel by foot today to a small village and stay the night. Then tomorrow, we'll take a ship at the town's port to the capital of the Land of Spring. Ren's royal guard will meet us at the port to pick him up. Any questions?"

Naruto and Sasuke shook their heads.

"Actually, I was wondering if you three would like to attend the play as a token of my gratitude. I can provide accommodations and the tickets of course," Ren offered as he looked at Sakura.

Sakura was caught off guard by his generous offer, but she knew that they couldn't accept. "We'd love to, but unfortunately we need to be back in the village at our scheduled time. I have shifts at the hospital, and the boys have other scheduled missions. Thank you very much for the offer though. It's very sweet of you!" she replied.

Dejected, Ren sighed. "You are all highly skilled ninja, so it makes sense that you'd have other responsibilities to attend too."

Naruto nodded his head rapidly. "We are super skilled, at least Sakura and I, so we're always getting missions."

"Need I remind you which of us are jonin dobe?" Sasuke spat as he glared at the blond.

"Come on guys. Drop it, and let's get going!" Sakura interjected before a fight broke out.

Sakura was thankful that her teammates were behaving, but she was a little nervous after seeing Sasuke smirk at the client. It was the type of smirk he wore before challenging Naruto to a spar. Sakura inwardly sighed. Couldn't everyone just get along?

The four individuals departed from Konoha and spent the rest of the day traveling to the village. In keeping with their disguise as merchants, they wore unassuming cloaks, and the ninja members of the group masked their chakra and weapons.

Thus far, nothing unusual had occurred on the first leg of the journey. Sakura made sure to stress the importance of staying quiet while in disguise, so they wouldn't attract any attention. It also helped to prevent any flirting from Ren or outbursts from her protective male teammates. She had noticed his targeted his glances towards her. She found him a little arrogant, but he was handsome and seemed kind. It was unusual for a client to offer something like play tickets in addition to the mission fee. Even if the tickets were just an excuse for Ren to spend more time with her, she found the gesture thoughtful. Thankfully, she was able to politely decline because even if she wanted to go, she would have to babysit Sasuke and Naruto for an extra couple of days.

During the journey, Naruto had some time to think about the current situation. He resolved not to worry about Ren because he knew it was unlikely that Sakura would go for him. He was a civilian, completely creepy, but most importantly not Sasuke. His G.S.S plot would remain unharmed. He also realized that Ren's flirting with Sakura could actually help his plan. Sasuke was bound to get overprotective and realize how much he liked Sakura. It was already starting to show as over their lunch break Sasuke had forcefully suggested that he and Naruto take turns guarding Ren at night while Sakura slept. He argued that Sakura would need to be well rested since she was team leader. Naruto immediately agreed and understood Sasuke's intentions. Sakura was a little annoyed that they thought she couldn't function with a little bit of sleep, but she decided not to protest since Sasuke, and Naruto actually agreed on something.

**X **

The group of four arrived in the village of Oparu around nightfall. Oparu was known for its beautiful opals which were found in a nearby mine, hence the village's name. Its port was located on the west side of town next to the river. The town was quiet and unassuming with a small town square, a few shops, one school, and some houses. After walking through the housing area, they found an inn. They entered and booked accommodations for a night. Sakura got her own room while the men shared a suite with two rooms.

"Alright. Here are your room keys. Be ready at 7 am sharp to check out and leave." Sakura instructed as she gave out the room keys. She bid the men goodnight and headed to her room for a hot shower and a good night's sleep.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Ren went to their shared suite. It was modest in size with a small living room connecting the two bedrooms. Each bedroom had two twin beds and a bathroom with a shower. The suite wasn't glamorous by any means, but it was clean and had more amenities than a tent. Naruto and Sasuke checked the rooms for any hidden traps while Ren got ready for bed. The two decided that Naruto would take the first guard shift since he wouldn't be as alert if he went to bed only to wake up hours later for guard duty. Thus, Sasuke would take the second shift. Before he went to bed, he cast a genjutsu just outside of the suite if an unwanted visitor was to stop by.

Naruto stayed in Ren's room as his shift had just begun. Sasuke tried to fall asleep, but he was troubled by Ren's behavior towards Sakura. Even though he had been relatively appropriate after his inappropriate introduction to Sakura, Ren had been sneaking glances at her all throughout the trip from Konoha to Oparu. Sasuke had to contain his rage since he needed to remain professional. He wasn't like Naruto who in his humble opinion had been the cause of the failure of the mission they went on with Itachi last year. No, he was Uchiha Sasuke, jonin of Konoha and second heir of the esteemed Uchiha clan. He wasn't going to react to the unacceptable behavior of the daimyo's son and ruin his reputation as an upstanding and professional ninja.

It was quite annoying that he couldn't do much about the guy since he was their charge. What was even more annoying was that Sakura didn't rebuff Ren's advances. She blushed when Ren kissed her hand as if she enjoyed his attention. Whenever men showed such blatant interest in her, such as Rock Lee, she was quick to reject them. Could she actually be interested in Ren? Sasuke wanted to think that she wouldn't be interested in some pompous civilian, but he was still bothered by the possibility that Sakura liked or at least didn't mind Ren's obvious crush on her.

Furthermore, the most important and puzzling matter to Sasuke was why this bothered him so much. He had always been protective when it came to Sakura out of his role as a close friend and teammate, but he never felt jealous of any of the guys previously interested in Sakura. Why did Ren's interest in Sakura cause him such fury? She was just so annoying.

Huffing in frustration, he removed the covers from his bed and tried to meditate. It was a practice he picked up from Kakashi when he personally trained him for two and a half years. Sasuke's mother was adamant that someone privately train Sasuke as both of his teammates had become apprentices of Sannin, and most of the Uchiha were busy running the police force or in Anbu. Kakashi seemed like a good fit since he possessed the sharingan and proficiency in the three main ninja arts. Plus, he had shortly trained Sasuke before his first chunin exam which resulted in Sasuke learning his signature jutsu Chidori.

Aside from developing typical ninja skills, Kakashi sought to teach Sasuke to manage his emotions better. He had firsthand seen Sasuke overreact and lash out at his teammates which resulted in Sakura crying and Naruto physically fighting Sasuke. He knew that Sasuke was constantly seeking the approval of his father and jealous of his brother's genius. However, teammates don't treat teammates like that. Sasuke had a hard time seeing the benefit of meditation at first, but he listened to Kakashi since he was a pretty good ninja. Slowly, Sasuke was able to better control his emotions. Instead of getting angry and yelling at Sakura when she offered him homemade food, he accepted it politely. Naruto was still able to rile him up, but he no longer fought Naruto as a way to vent his frustrations with his family. He still saw the blond as rival but now as a close friend.

Sasuke sat on top on his bed in a cross legged-position as he meditated. With his eyes closed, he focused on the sound and sensation of his breath. After about fifteen minutes of relaxed breathing, his heart rate slowed, and his body felt tired enough for sleep. His frustration had subsidized, so he got back under the covers of his bed and drifted off to sleep.

**X**

Sasuke awoke to a blond moron poking his cheek. Growling, he pushed back the blankets and got up from the bed to put on his ninja gear. He hadn't gotten as much sleep as he would have to due to certain thoughts about a pink haired ninja, so he was a little grouchy.

"It's your turn to watch the royal pervert teme. Goodluck!" Naruto got ready for bed as Sasuke exited their room and entered the living room. He activated his sharingan and peered around checking for anything abnormal. Sensing nothing out of the ordinary, he deactivated his dojutsu and sat in the red chair closest to Ren's room.

With several hours to himself, Sasuke allowed himself to enjoy the relative quietness. The only noises which were crickets chirping and Naruto's light snoring were surprisingly calming. He wished that the rest of the mission could be uneventful, but he knew it wouldn't be since Ren seemed to have his eyes set on Sakura, and she wasn't pushing him away. She did reject his offer to go to the play, but that's because she had several major surgeries to perform next week.

Just the mere thought of Ren irked him. Sasuke pondered why Sakura would even be interested in him. Sure, he had lots of wealth and power, but he seemed to be quite arrogant. Sakura loathed arrogance especially concerning men who tried to court her. Sasuke had seen her tell off many men for acting entitled to her and her time. Why should it be any different this time?

But then again, Sasuke remembered how lonely Sakura seemed at the ramen shop when Naruto was going on about how lucky he was to have Hinata. What a sap!

Now that he thought about it, he and Sakura were one of the only ones in their age group without a significant other. After the Fourth Shinobi War, most people in their generation had paired up. Sasuke deduced that Sakura felt left out and lonely, so she was now taking the first guy that showed interest in her. That had to be it! This was all Naruto's fault. If he hadn't kept going on about how happy he was with Hinata, Sakura wouldn't have been reminded of her loneliness and would have flat out rejected Ren.

Sasuke glanced at his watch and saw that he only had an hour until they had to leave to inn. He got up from the chair and went to wake up Naruto. Since he was annoyed with and definitely not jealous of Ren, he tasked Naruto with waking their charge. They got dressed, packed up their belongings, and headed to the lobby.

Ever the punctual one, Sakura was already there waiting with their tickets for the ship. The guys gave the innkeeper their keys and thanked her for their stay. They departed for the port which was only a 15 minute walk away.

During the walk, Naruto's stomach growled and rumbled. "Ugh, Sakura-chan. I'm really hungry. When's breakfast?"

"Don't worry Naruto. They'll have it on the ship."

"Surely, you can go without food until then since you're a 'super skilled ninja' right?" Sasuke remarked with a smirk.

The blond growled back. "I'll be fine, but I'm starving!"

Sakura scoffed and ignored his complaints. Sometimes she wondered how either of them graduated from the academy. They were just so immature. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself. She reminded herself that it was great experience and pay to escort a royal relative of the daimyo. However, dealing with Sasuke and Naruto was a headache and even more so when the charge kept making eyes at her. She just wanted to get this mission over with.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

A long 15 minutes later, the group arrived at the port. They boarded the ship and were immediately directed to the cafeteria where they were served breakfast, much to Naruto's pleasure.

"Mmmm. This rice porridge is so good!" Naruto commented as he patted his stomach. He sighed contently and relished the feeling of fullness. All was well now that Naruto was fed.

Sakura giggled. "Well I'm glad that you like it. There's lunch later, and we will have access to a snack bar."

"Good. That means I won't have to hear the dobe complain about being hungry." Sasuke noted while finishing his food. Not that he would ever admit it, but he didn't mind missions with Naruto and Sakura as long as Naruto didn't whine much, and Sakura kept her temper in check. In regard to this mission, he just minded the snooty client he was responsible for.

Feeling curious, Naruto asked Ren about his trip to the Land of Spring. "So, Ren, which play are you seeing in the Land of Spring?"

"I'm not sure of the title, but the play is a stage version of one of the Princess Gale movies. It's starring Yukie Fujikaze who also happens to be the daimyo of the Land of Spring," Ren supplied with a smile.

"WHAT?" Naruto exclaimed with wide eyes. The royal charge gave him a confused look.

"We know her! We escorted her to the Land of Snow and helped her get the throne."

Ren still looked confused because he didn't understand the context, but Sakura filled him in.

"What Naruto is saying is that she was our client years ago. The Land of Spring used to be the Land of Snow before Fujikaze-sama's rule. We helped her overthrow her corrupt uncle, and she assumed the role of daimyo," the pinkette explained.

"Hm. Very interesting. I knew that she was a new ruler, but I didn't know how she obtained the throne. I still don't understand why the country's name changed though," Ren replied thoughtfully.

"The climate used to be very cold and snowy, but we somehow activated a heat generator and the snow melted away. They've kept the generator on ever since," Sakura glanced at the brunette man.

"Well, I'm glad it's now the Land of Spring. I don't do well in the cold," he commented as he laughed.

"I'm sure your visit will be more pleasant than ours was," Sakura stated as she smiled at Ren.

Sasuke's eye twitched as he felt a wave of jealousy as the two continued to chat. She was being so nice to him and looking at him as if she were attracted to him! Naruto noticed Sasuke's reaction and decided to intervene before he kantonned the royal.

"Hey guys! Since we're all finished eating, why don't we go and settle into our rooms?"

The group agreed, and one of the crew members led them to their accommodations. It was a fairly large room with four hammocks and a restroom. Trouble started to brew when determining where everyone would sleep. Sasuke and Naruto couldn't sleep next to each other because they would be up all night bickering, and Sakura couldn't sleep next to Ren without the boys making a fuss. Suddenly, a light bulb went off.

"Ren, would you mind sleeping in between Naruto and Sasuke? You'll be more protected, and it will keep those two from fighting too much," Sakura suggested.

"I can, if it would please you," the brunette man responded smoothly.

"It would very much so. Thank you for your cooperation," she replied. Naruto seemed pretty pleased with her suggestion, but Sasuke was in brooding mode. He frowned at the exchange since Sakura was being way too nice to this guy despite his blatant interest in her. Ren was definitely not as smooth as he thought he was.

"I'm done unpacking, so I'm going to go to the upper deck and study some of my medical scrolls. I'll see you guys at lunch!" Sakura always had something to read and study. As an elite medic-nin, she was constantly learning new things in order to best help her patient and comrades. She believed that there was always room for improvement, so she strove continually improve her skills and increase her knowledge.

With her notes and scrolls in hand, she was poised to leave.

"Sakura, I actually have some treaties to read over, so I'll join you if you don't mind." Ren already had his leather satchel in hand. He was looking forward to spending to one-on-one time together with Sakura.

"Um, ok. That's fine," Sakura replied. She wouldn't mind his presence as long as she was able to get her work done.

"I have some police reports to read over, so I'll join you as well," Sasuke added as he looked pointedly at Ren. There was no way in hell that he was going to let Sakura be alone with that creep.

"I'll give you guys a few minutes to collect your things then," the pinkette said.

Sakura sighed inwardly. This was going to be awkward. She knew Sasuke was just looking out for her, but why did he have to be so alpha male about it? His glaring towards Ren was very noticeable. She was confused by his abnormal behavior. He was never this aggressive when a guy showed interest in her. He might have physically stopped a guy from groping her or told a persistent guy to get lost when he didn't leave her alone after she made it clear she wasn't interested. That was typical for a close friend, but the constant looks and interference towards Ren didn't make sense. Yes, Ren was interested in her, but he didn't ogle her too much or try to touch her. He was clearly interested, but he seemed nice. So why was Sasuke acting weird? Why did he care? It wasn't possible that he liked her, right?

Naruto was glad to see that Sasuke had invited himself in reaction to Ren doing so. It led him to believe that Sasuke liked Sakura as more than a friend. Now, whether Sasuke had realized that for himself was up for debate. He would eventually discover his feelings for Sakura, ask her out, continue dating her for the month, and then Naruto could become a jonin. The love triangle could use some time together without Naruto. There would be drama and vying for Sakura's attention. He wasn't necessary for that.

"You guys have fun studying. I'm going to take a nap. See ya for lunch!"

The other members left, and Naruto had the whole room to himself. He smiled, laid in his hammock, and closed his eyes.

**X **

A few hours later, he awoke to a yelling Sakura. Blurry eyed and confused, he listened from his hammock. There was no way he wanted to be involved and a possible target while his female teammate was upset. He saw Sakura carrying an unconscious Ren while shouting at Sasuke.

"I cannot believe you! We are supposed to protect our charge, not hurt him! Do you know how unprofessional this looks?" Sakura put Ren in his hammock and faced Sasuke. Sasuke crossed his arms and stuck his nose up.

"Whatever. I was protecting you because you are my teammate. I won't apologize."

"Protecting me from what? All of us were sitting at a table doing work, and then out of nowhere you punch Ren!" Sakura was so mad at Sasuke. She glared at him and huffed.

"He was obviously trying to touch you inappropriately, so I stopped him by knocking him out."

"He was just trying to get a mosquito off of my neck!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. From his angle, it looked like Ren was trying to touch her inappropriately. It was typical of Sakura to be naive for her own good. She had no idea what type of effect she had on some men. He turned around to leave, but Sakura wanted to have the last word.

"Uchiha Sasuke," she said slowly and evenly.

The raven nin turned around.

"Just where do you think you're going?"

"Lunch," he said plainly.

"You're going to stay here and watch Ren since you knocked him unconscious. Naruto and I will be getting lunch." Sakura walked up to Sasuke and stared him down with her hands on her hips.

"Che. I'm not staying here with him," Sasuke said flatly.

"Yes, you are. I'm team leader and say so."

Sasuke glared at her and stayed near the door.

"Well, I can always stay here with him instead," she replied innocently.

"Fine. Go have lunch with Naruto," Sasuke seethed as he turned around and headed back into the room.

Sakura smirked. She knew that she could exploit his protectiveness. Though, she was still upset at him for injuring their charge. Plus, Lady Tsunade was going to give them an earful. Yikes.

"Ugh. What's up Sakura-chan?" He pretended not to know what was going on while he got up from the hammock.

"Come on. You and I are getting lunch while Sasuke stays here with Ren." Sakura's authoritative tone left no room for argument.

"Sounds good! Bye teme!" Naruto waved to Sasuke which the Uchiha returned with a nod.

Naruto and Sakura left swiftly and got lunch at the cafeteria. Lunch comprised of a simple salad and kage udon soup.

Sakura had been quieter than normal, so Naruto decided to get the conversation going.

"So, you wanna tell me what happened with teme?" he inquired. He chowed down and waited for a response.

Sakura sighed as she laced her hands under her chin. "We were on the upper deck doing work and had been for a few hours. It was a little awkward since Ren kept flirting with me, and Sasuke kept making snide remarks and glaring at him," she explained.

Naruto nodded, and she continued her explanation.

"Ren saw a mosquito on my neck, so he wanted to get it off of me. He was about to get it off of me, and then Sasuke-kun punched him. It was so out of the blue! He claims that he was protecting me, but I don't believe him. I also can't believe how unprofessional he behaved! It's so unlike him,"

Sakura exhaled slowly after finishing her account. "So, what do you think?"

"Hmm. I think Sasuke teme is jealous because he likes you. He doesn't like that Ren, a powerful and available guy, is giving you special attention."

Sakura blushed and turned away. "What...what are you talking about Naruto? He couldn't possibly like me that way. It... it's just not possible!"

"It is! Sasuke is a guy with...urges. And, you're his only female friend! Of course he likes you!"

She shook her head. "I can't believe that. I can't afford to get my hopes up,"

Naruto deflated at the sight of his friend's sadness. Sakura's feelings towards Sasuke were a sensitive subject. He had rejected her once when she confessed that she loved him before he went on his training trip with Kakashi several years ago. When Sasuke returned, Sakura had stopped trying to make him her boyfriend and instead tried to be friends. Since then, they've become close friends. Sasuke might not be the most verbal or forthcoming, but he cared about Sakura. Whenever Sakura worked too many shifts, he was the first to scold her and tell her rest. He always helped her carry her paperwork from the hospital to her apartment or brought her healthy homecooked meals. However, the way he protected Sakura in battle or on missions truly showed how much he cared for her. He took kunai to the back and broke enemies' bones for her. Sasuke argued that he was extra protective of Sakura on missions since she was medic of the team, and she couldn't heal others if she was injured badly. Naruto knew that it was really a thinly veiled excuse for his fondness of Sakura.

"I'm sorry that I upset you Sakura-chan. I didn't mean to!"

"You didn't! I'm fine. I just can't wait for this mission to be over,"

"You and me both! I can't wait to get back and see Hinata-chan. I've got a great date planned for us,"

She smiled and commented, "I just hope it doesn't involve a river".

"Hey! I'll have you know that our date will be on dry land with no boat in site," Naruto countered.

They both laughed, and Naruto continued to tell Sakura about his plans for the date. She was glad for the change in topic. For now, she enjoyed Naruto's company before Ren woke up and she had to apologize and explain what the hell happened.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: **

**Thank you so much to everyone reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following this story! It means the world to me. As for updates, I'm going to try to update weekly. I appreciate feedback, so please review if you feel so inclined to. Without further ado, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**

**I also do not own Naruto.**

**X**

**Chapter 5: **

Sasuke was pissed. He had been stuck in this stupid room with his stupid charge for several hours. Ren was unconscious and laying on the hammock while Sasuke tried to finish going over the police reports. He was having a hard time concentrating since all he could think about was Sakura.

She was mad at him for protecting her when she should have thanked him. He had to endure her scolding and would probably get her fists later. Maybe it was a little unprofessional and an extreme reaction to punch Ren, but Sasuke believed that his intentions were just. He couldn't let some man put his hands on Sakura. It just wasn't right.

He was coming to the realization that he couldn't wrap his mind around any man with Sakura. She was one of his precious people; if some man came along and whisked her off her feet, she would be less of a part of his life. He couldn't identify these feelings that he had towards her. He didn't see her as just a close friend. She felt like something more, but he couldn't quite decipher what she meant to him. All he knew for certainty, at the moment, was that she couldn't be with any man, especially Ren.

Speaking of that lecher, he was starting to wake up. Sasuke needed to figure out how to get him to forget or not make a complaint about the incident where Sasuke punched him unconscious. He didn't want his outburst to reflect badly on the rest of Team 7. If Tsunade got wind of what happened, they would all be in trouble, but Sakura would take lot of heat since she was the team leader. He would feel guilty if she got punished for his behavior, not that his actions were unjustified, but he knew that the Godaime wouldn't be pleased. Using his sharingan was an option, but he'd get in even more trouble if someone found out that he used it. It would be his last resort.

The brunette man yawned and stretched his arms. Sasuke looked on with a blank stare; maybe if he pretended like nothing happened Ren would do the same.

" Hey Sasuke. What happened up on the upper deck? The last thing I remember was speaking to Sakura, and why does my head hurt so much?"

Damn it. He needed to come up with a explanation quickly, but at least Ren didn't remember getting punched.

" You fainted and fell on your head. Probably due to a combination of sea sickness, dehydration, and/or exhaustion." His apathetic stare remained in place as he hoped to Kami that Ren would buy it.

"That makes sense. I didn't have much to drink today, and all the traveling has been tiring," Ren commented with a chuckle.

Sasuke nodded as he inwardly sigh of relief. Drama and disaster avoided.

" By the way, thank you for watching over me,"

"Aa," Sasuke simply nodded.

Suddenly, a mischievous glint appeared in Ren's eye which Sasuke did not like.

"I'm sure you would have rather spent that time with dear Sakura," Ren added with a smirk.

" Not really. I just wanted to finish going over the police reports and enjoy the fresh air," Sasuke lied. What the hell was this guy doing?

" Of course. I just couldn't help but notice how protective you've been towards her since I've made my romantic intentions towards her clear," he countered.

Sasuke grit his teeth as he carefully formulated a response to the royal asshole.

" She's my teammate, so naturally I feel protective towards her."

" I suppose that's true," Ren remarked as he combed through his disheveled locks.

Ren concluded that he wasn't going to be able to pry anything out of the taciturn Uchiha, so he dropped the subject.

" Dinner is soon, so I better freshen up now," he said as he stood up from the hammock and headed to the bathroom.

Sasuke was left to stew over his little conversation with Ren. All he wanted at the moment was to wipe that smug smirk off of his face. It irritated him that Ren had insinuated that he was romantically interested in Sakura, and that his alleged romantic interest was why he was protective over her.

She was his teammate for heaven's sake. Of course he would watch out for her, especially when there was a perverted royal trying to seduce her. Ren just didn't understand since he wasn't a shinobi. Teammates look out for each other, and that was that. He was also _totally _not interested in Sakura. He saw her as close friend and respected her. He didn't ever get distracted by her figure flattering gear or get turned on when her fists created a minor earthquake. No; that never happened, right? Ok, maybe Sasuke had noticed Sakura's long legs and soft pink lips a few times. He was a hot-blooded male though, and her beauty was impossible not to notice. He also didn't feel turned on when she used her superhuman strength; he was just impressed. That's all. He had completely platonic feelings for Sakura.

He wasn't going to let Ren rile him up. It just wasn't worth it. He'd keep his cool through dinner, and then he wouldn't have to deal with Ren ever again.

Ren exited the bathroom, and he and Sasuke went to the cafeteria to get dinner. When they arrived, Sakura and Naruto already a table. Predictably, Naruto was stuffing his face with food while talking a million miles a minute. Sasuke couldn't help but but let out an amused hmph. He glanced over at Sakura, and instantly his heartbeat quickened.

Her laughter sounded like a tingling bell, and her gentle smile brightened the room. Sasuke peered over at his charge, and he realized that he wasn't the only one admiring Sakura. Before he could growl at the brunette man, Naruto spotted them and waved them over.

" Hey Ren! Hey teme! We're over here!" the blond yelled as he leapt up from his seat.

" We know dobe. You don't have to be so loud," Sasuke stated.

" I just can't help it! I'm excited. It's good to see that you're awake Ren. I'm really sorry that teme…"

Before he could continue, Sasuke cut Naruto off with an elbow to the stomach. Ren looked confused, and so did Sakura.

" He's just sorry that I had to watch over you. Naruto doesn't always find me to be the most pleasant company," the Uchiha explained quickly.

" Oh! Well, I don't mind. You were a perfectly fine caretaker," he replied.

Sakura was utterly confused. Ren didn't seem upset with Sasuke, and Sasuke was acting weird. Of course, Naruto was blissfully unaware of the perplexing circumstances and continued to enjoy his meal. He and Sasuke fought all the time, so a punch in the face wasn't a big deal to him. He just assumed that Sasuke and Ren made-up and that the incident was now water under the bridge.

However, Sakura, being much more perceptive, figured that Sasuke had somehow hid what happened from Ren. She was even more upset with her teammate for lying to in addition to being violent with their charge. She needed to figure out what he did before there were major consequences. She knew that Sasuke had a tendency to act rashly which could cause later issues.

" Ren, I'll go get your dinner since you're recovering," she said with a smile.

" Why thank you. That's very thoughtful of you," Ren commented with a charming grin.

With a more forceful smile, the pink-haired nin turned to Sasuke.

"Sasuke-kun, you need to get dinner as well so why don't you join me?"

" I suppose," the handsome ebony haired man said as he got up from his seat.

The pair walked over to the buffet area and out of earshot from Ren and Naruto. Sasuke braced himself for the inevitable interrogation and scolding he'd get from Sakura.

" Isn't it interesting that Ren was so civil with you? It's almost as if he forgot that you punched him in the face a few hours ago," the pinkette remarked with an exaggerated inquisitive tone. Sasuke didn't respond and continued to get his food as he waited for the scolding to begin.

" What did you do? Did you use your sharingan on him?"

" No. He woke up without any recollection that I punched him, so I just told him that he fainted from exhaustion and dehydration," he surmised.

" Are you kidding me? You didn't apologize?" Sakura was furious, and Sasuke could practically feel the anger rolling off of her.

" Che. Of course not. I'm not going to apologize for protecting my teammate," he asserted forcefully.

Sakura's heart softened a little. He was only trying to show that he cared in his own way. He wasn't the best at words; his actions demonstrated his true feelings. She sighed because she couldn't be too mad at him. She was still disappointed that he lied to Ren, but she understood.

" I know Sasuke-kun, but you don't need to protect me from a civilian. I'm perfectly capable of defending myself,"

He knew that she was a fierce fighter, but he was protecting her heart. She was naive and innocent. She didn't need to get mixed up with a cocky royal because he could use his status against her.

" Let's get back to the table. They'll start to get suspicious if we're gone much longer," she suggested.

He nodded, and they walked back to the table with food in hand. Sasuke was surprised with how their interaction played out, but then again, Sakura always seemed to surprise him. Whether it was her level-headedness in a heated battle or kindness towards strangers on the street, she never ceased to impress him. He was grateful that she had been understanding of his actions. He couldn't help but react to a pompous man, who was crushing on her, in a violent way.

Dinner was a pleasant affair as Sasuke and Sakura resolved to move on from the incident. Ren was in good spirits because he was excited to attend the play at the Land of Spring, and he was also unaware of what transpired hours ago. On the other hand, Naruto was extremely content because he feasted on good food with his closest friends and recounted how he saved Yukie years ago in the Land of Snow. The blond knucklehead never missed an opportunity to brag about his valiant efforts.

At half past 7, an announcement sounded throughout the dining area.

" Good evening passengers. We are approaching the port of the Land of Spring. For those getting off there, be ready to exit the ship in 30 minutes. Thank you for your service, and we hope that you had an enjoyable journey. Have a good evening!"

After the message ended, the group decided to returned to their room to collect their belongings and prepare to leave the ship. Team 7 would board another ship at the port to take them back to Fire Country shortly after they safely delivered Ren to his royal guard.

With a sudden jerk, the ship docked at the port. The captain announced that all of the passengers getting off needed to head to the west upper deck, so the group did as told. They got off the ship where a group of ten soldiers were waiting. They were dressed in royal blue garbs with polished silver swords and shields that bore the daimyo's family crest.

The group approached the soldiers and said their goodbyes to Ren.

" Bye Ren! Have fun at the play and tell Yukie that I say hi!" Naruto exclaimed as he waved goodbye to their charge.

" Thank you Naruto. I will make sure to tell her majesty," Ren replied with a smile.

" Goodbye your majesty. Enjoy your stay," Sasuke stated with an unaffected tone.

Ren smirked and nodded.

" Bye Ren. I hope you have a pleasant stay. I hope you enjoyed your time with us," Sakura said politely.

" I most certainly did,"

Team 7 started to walk towards their ship, but Ren grasped Sakura's wrist. They all stopped moving immediately.

"Sakura could I speak with you a moment?" the royal inquired.

"Oh, sure," she said.

" You guys go on ahead without me. I'll catch up with you in a minute," the pinkette called out.

Her teammates reluctantly obliged and walked towards their ship.

" Is anything wrong Ren?"

"No, not at all. I wanted to personally thank you for safely getting me to my destination. Your prowess as a ninja and leader are impressive to say the least. I hope you'll come visit the Fire capital soon," he expressed as he gently cradled her hand with his.

Sakura peered into to his eyes, and she detected no deceit. His admiration was flattering, but she didn't know if she possessed romantic feelings for him. She settled to respectfully accept his praise.

" Thank you. I' m very flattered Ren. I'll be sure to visit if I'm in the capital. I better not keep my teammates waiting though,"

She bowed before she departed, but as soon as she stood up Ren rest his hand on her cheek and looked deep into her eyes. His hand was soft and his violet eyes sparkled in the moonlight. She couldn't help but appreciate his good looks.

" Goodbye Sakura," he whispered.

He removed his hand, and she turned around to take her leave. During the whole walk to the ship, her heart felt like it would beat right out of her chest. She was so overwhelmed by his attention. She didn't know if she could return his feelings, and even if she did, she didn't see herself with a civilian and especially a royal.

In fact, she only pictured herself with one man. He was quiet, stubborn, and quite cocky, but he was a loyal friend, an honorable son, and a tenacious fighter. If only he could see her as more than teammate, she wished. Ren saw her as a woman. He was attractive and thoughtful, but he wasn't Sasuke. Her cheeks burned as her conflicted emotions bubbled up. Breathing slowly, she attempted to calm herself before the inevitable onslaught of questions that her teammates would have for her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: **

After Sakura shooed them away, Naruto and Sasuke ventured to the west port to find their ship. Neither were very happy about leaving Sakura with Ren, but they didn't want to risk disobeying her. She wouldn't let them get away with defying her authority as team leader or any time for that matter.

They found their ship which would drop them off on the edge of Fire country. They would board in thirty minutes, so Sakura would need to hurry.

Sasuke's mind was swimming. Why did Ren have to talk to Sakura alone? Technically, they were in a crowd and his guard was present. It irked Sasuke that Ren went out of his way to talk to Sakura when he and Naruto had left. Why couldn't he say what he needed to say with Team 7 present? He wasn't going to propose to her or something? Royals didn't do that in this day and age anymore. That was so two decades ago.

"Hey teme, I think this is the ship. Why don't you go get Sakura-chan? It's dark and crowded, so she might have trouble finding it," his best friend suggested which successfully interrupted his unsettling train of thought.

"Fine. Don't board until Sakura and I come back," the raven-haired nin replied.

He strode towards the east port where they left Sakura with Ren. He weaved through crowded streets filled with kiosks, food stands, and people. The capital of the Land of Spring had become quite a bustling and populated city since Team 7 had last seen it.

Sasuke spotted Sakura from across the street walking away from Ren and his guard. Her head hung low as if she were upset. Sasuke immediately assumed that Ren was the cause of her strife and became angered.

He crossed the street and approached her. She kept her head down, so she didn't see her teammate. She kept walking and walked straight into Sasuke's chest. Startled, she put her hands in front of her and looked up.

She gasped and blushed as she realized that she had her hands on Sasuke's chest. She immediately removed her hands from her chest and stepped back a foot.

" Sasuke-kun! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you," she apologized.

" It's alright, but you should be more careful and watch where you're going," he said with an emotionless face. If he was honest, he hadn't minded her hands on his chest or her close presence.

" You're right," she sighed. Great, she had embarrassed herself in front of Sasuke. He probably thought that she was feeling him up. It's not like she had a shot with him to begin with, but now her chances were surely ruined. Sasuke hated to be touched.

"So, what are you doing here?" the pretty pinkette asked.

" Escorting you to the ship."

" I'm perfectly capable of walking myself to the ship Sasuke-kun," she commented with a hint of annoyance. Sometimes her teammates treated her like she wasn't a sannin-level ninja who could level mountains. She could take a civilian and most ninja if she was attacked.

Astutely noticing her annoyance, the dark haired nin offered a simple explanation.

" Dobe suggested that I do so since the ship was difficult to find, and we only have a short time to board."

" Oh," she replied as her annoyance quickly disappeared. Her teammates were being considerate of her and the mission. They didn't want her to waste any time trying to locate the boat or risk her missing the departure.

"Let's get going," she proposed.

The pair strolled down the dimly lit streets and took a few detours to avoid the especially crowded areas of the town. It was brisk and silent walk, but Sakura could feel Sasuke's eyes on her, and she instantly felt exposed.

" Is something wrong Sasuke-kun?" she asked as she looked up at him.

A few moments of silence passed as Sasuke debated whether to ask her about what Ren spoke to her about. He wanted to know if Ren upset her.

" You looked upset before I ran into you. Did Ren say something to upset you?" he responded without his face betraying his nagging curiosity.

" No, not at all! He just wanted to personally thank me for escorting him. Probably since I'm the team leader. I'm just a little tired of all of this constant traveling," she explained.

" Were you worried about me?" she teased with an impish grin.

Sasuke scowled and crossed his arms. He refused to answer her silly question. Of course, he was worried about her. However, he had too much pride to say so.

" Keep it up and I might think that you care about me," she added in a joking manner.

She had to know that he cared about her well-being, but it didn't stop her from trying to pry it out of him. He did not want her to get kidnapped or injured as she was one of his precious people. He and Naruto would also have to answer to Tsunade. She'd probably take them off the mission roster for a week or two and then give him and Naruto a sparring lesson to show them the value of looking out for their teammates.

A few moments later, the pair arrived at the port and easily spotted their hyperactive blond teammate.

Naruto jumped up and down in excitement as his friends approached him. The reunited group boarded the ship and went to straight to their room to catch some shut eye. For early in the morning, they would get dropped off at a small town on the edge of Fire country and spend the day traveling by foot to Konoha. All of them had duties, missions, and meetings waiting for them at home; thus, it was imperative that they return to their village as soon as possible.

Sasuke was relieved to be going home as he was not fond of watching Ren practically throw himself at Sakura. He was also still a little suspicious about his conversation with Sakura. He still believed that Ren did something to upset her. Reminding himself that the chances of him seeing the royal were remotely low, he tried to fall asleep and forget about the whole mission.

Another member of Team 7 was also having a hard time falling asleep. Sakura laid awake in her bed as she struggled to sleep. Her eyes darted around the dark room as she contemplated her circumstances. She was trying to decipher her feelings and figure out what she should do about them. She tried to approach the situation objectively and not get swept up in her feelings and act rashly.

There was a handsome, somewhat arrogant, but thoughtful royal interested in her. He had extended an open invitation to visit, but she was hesitant to accept. Common sense told her to give the attractive and rich man a chance, but her heart wasn't so sure. Initially, she thought that she might have romantic feelings for him, but she determined that she only liked the attention. It wasn't every day that an attractive and wealthy man like Ren flirted with her. Having that type of attention from that type of guy was a bit of a confidence booster.

While she was flattered by Ren's amorous interest, she only had feelings for Sasuke. Sasuke was always there for her. He was the first to jump in front of a spray of shuriken for her. He never missed a birthday or holiday. He always checked on her after an especially taxing mission and brought her his mother's home cooked food in order to make sure that she was eating well.

He was loyal and devoted not just to Sakura, but also to those close to him. When he saw his older relatives struggling to carry their groceries, he carried them. He was one of the biggest supporters of Itachi and Izumi's relationship. As for his parents, he made sure to support them in any way possible. For example, he volunteered to step in as head of the police station so his parents could go on a honeymoon for their 30th anniversary. All around, Sasuke was a family man, and Sakura admired that very much.

He also cared deeply for his teammates. He never questioned their abilities and trusted them with his life. Teasing Naruto about being dead last didn't count. He put up with Sai's lack of social grace. He respected Kakashi despite his constant tardiness. He was a loyal best friend to Naruto and practically adopted him into his family as Naruto was invited to practically every Uchiha gathering.

Sakura's predicament was clear now. She was in love with Sasuke, and no amount of flirting from a rich handsome man would change that. How unfortunate. At 20 years of age, she was still hopelessly and completely in love with her childhood crush. Worst of all, he couldn't return her feelings.

Her apathetic teammate wasn't called the 'Ice Prince of Konoha' for nothing. In all of the 16 years that she had known him, she had never seen nor saw him show any romantic interest in a female. A few years ago, Naruto and she had debated whether Sasuke was gay, but Sasuke's disdain for a male charge's flirting towards him cleared that right up. Team 7 had been tasked with escorting an affluent banker to a resort in the Land of Tea. Their client had made several passes at Sasuke, and he got so mad that Kakashi had to restrain him from burning the client to a crisp.

Perhaps he was asexual, but he got upset when Sai had asked him about it and denied it. For all of Sasuke's talents, he was not a good liar in social situations. He could be extremely suave and convincing undercover, but he was never good at lying to his friends or family. Sakura counted his honestly as one of his great qualities. Too many men she had met lied to her about their intentions, status, and/or age all in order to get in her pants. Honesty is the best policy.

After mulling over her unrequited love, Sakura felt her eyelids grow heavy as she drifted off to sleep.

**X **

A loud voice boomed throughout the ship announcing that the ship would be docking in Fire country in approximately half an hour.

Sakura and Sasuke awoke and got straight to packing up. Naruto slept like the dead, so it took Sakura shaking him for five minutes to rouse him. He whined a bit, but he got ready for the next leg of the journey.

Later, the intercom came on and declared that the ship had docked and those getting off for Fire country had 10 minutes to do so. Team 7 gathered their belongings and exited the ship. They entered a nearby forest and leapt through the sea of trees as they began their journey home. Trying to not attract any unwanted attention the ninja traveled in silence. A few hours had passed, and Naruto was getting hungry and restless.

It also didn't help that he had not made the progress he anticipated to make during the mission on his personal endeavor. Sure, Sasuke had gotten pissed when Ren kept hitting on Sakura. However, it translated into a violent reaction instead of the ' must-claim-my-woman' reaction that Naruto had been hoping for. Sasuke had become briefly flustered around Sakura and had started noticing her feminine physique, but he had made no attempt to pursue Sakura romantically. Naruto only had a few weeks left until the bet was over, and he felt that he wasn't making enough progress. He was going to be a chunin forever and have to do D-rank missions for a month if he didn't get his shit together.

" So how long until we're in Konoha?" Naruto asked as he yawned.

"If we continue at this speed and don't stop, we should arrive at Konoha an hour or tow before dinnertime. We've been making great time," his pink haired teammate answered.

Due to the constant traveling and early mornings, the blond was exhausted. He didn't think he could make the journey home without stopping somewhere for a meal and some rest. Suddenly, he remembered that there was a small inn about three hours South of Konoha. It contained a hot spring and served food to its customers. He knew of the inn from his travels with Jiraiya.

One time, the pair had visited the hot springs on the way back from training. Naruto's sensei wished to gather some more _research _for his erotic series whilst at the hot springs. He had been sorely disappointed when he realized that the hot springs were all but empty, so they had never returned. Right now, a quiet hot springs seemed ideal to the fatigued blond.

" Sakura-chan, can we stop at a hot spring? It's pretty empty and three hours south of the village," he requested.

Sakura pondered his question. A nice hot bath seemed quite appealing as they hadn't bathed since their stop in Oparu two days ago. They were ahead of schedule, so it wouldn't cause them to get home late.

"I don't mind stopping. Is that alright with you Sasuke-kun?"

"Sure. Dobe hasn't bathed in a few days, and he's starting to smell," he commented.

Sakura laughed nervously and hoped that Naruto would let the comment slide.

" Shut up teme! I could say the same about you!" he fired back.

" Tch. I don't smell. I'm much more hygienic than you," the ebony haired man snarled.

Sakura sighed and promptly told her boys to shut it, at least until they got to the hot springs. There was some moaning and groaning from Naruto and glaring from Sasuke, but they kept quiet.

Being extremely reactive to his best friend's baiting, Naruto was plotting a way to get back at him for being a rude asshole. A terribly wicked but smart idea came to the knucklehead. He had to stop himself from grinning at the pure genius of the plan lest he give himself away. If his idea went according to plan, he could get back at Sasuke and push his friends together. He couldn't wait until to get to the hot springs.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I hope you all enjoy this chapter featuring our favorite mischievous ninja! **

**Chapter 7;**

Team 7 made it to the hot springs around lunch time. It was nestled near the side of a mountain range and looked to be pretty empty, much to Naruto's fortune. The building was modest looking with a wooden exterior and two windows one either side of the door. The pathway to the inn's entrance was lined with beautiful tall trees and bushes. Overall, the inn had a peaceful atmosphere which was just what the teammates needed. They entered the inn and were greeted by an old woman.

"Hello! Welcome to Fire country's best hot springs and inn. How may I help you?" she said with an inviting smile.

"Hello. We'd like to get a lunch, two passes for the male bathes, and one pass for the female bathes," Sakura replied politely.

"Of course, dear. You all are the only customers currently, so I can serve you lunch right away," the hostess commented.

The group bowed and thanked the elderly woman before she ushered them to a private dining room. They were served a simple, yet delicious meal of yakisoba and fried vegetables. Ravenous from traveling without eating breakfast, the group of three quickly devoured the meal without pausing for much conversation.

"Mhmm this just what I needed! I'm so ready for a hot bath," Naruto stated after he finished his food.

"Me too," Sakura added as she sighed contently and laid her hands over her stomach.

All of Team 7 was glad to have a break and sit down for a meal. Even Sasuke was content; well as content as he could be. The hostess came back to the room to check on them. She cleared the table and gave them directions to the east wing of the inn where the hot springs were located.

Sakura swiftly left for the hot springs because Naruto was already begging her to use her superhuman strength to carry him like a baby. As if! Naruto was a grown man. She wasn't going to waste her energy carrying him because he ate too much, as usual. She'd let Sasuke deal with the blond pest this time. A hot bath and some time alone sounded much more appealing than a whiney Naruto.

Armed with a towel and her backpack, she found the east wing. There were two doors at each end of the hallway. The door on the right side had a sign that said women, and the door on the left side had a sign the said men.

Sakura went to the right and opened the door. She saw a small changing room with lockers, benches, and a shelf with extra towels. She assumed that the door at the back led to the hot springs.

The pink haired kunoichi removed her clothing and put all of her belongings in a locker. Before putting on her towel, she glanced down at her body.

Sakura, like many women, struggled with seeing herself as beautiful. When she saw her body, she saw all of the little imperfections like scars or lack of curves. She didn't think that she was unattractive by any means, but she felt like she couldn't compare to many of her friends like Ino or Hinata. She always felt like she was just the smart one - not the pretty one.

Sometimes, she wondered if her appearance was one of the reasons that Sasuke didn't return her feelings. He was one of the most handsome men she had seen, so he would most likely want an equally attractive partner. She didn't think she could be that for him. She was fit and slender, but she had an average bust size and pink hair. No one else she knew of had pink hair. It was loud and obnoxious. It clashed with Sasuke's midnight black locks and suave appearance. They didn't match.

Sighing in frustration, she resolved to destress in the bath. As she opened the door to the hot springs, steam flew around her body. She immediately felt warmth. The pool was surrounded by rocks and illuminated by paper lanterns strung around the fence which encased the area. Sakura presumed that the men's bath was on the other side of the fence. The most serene aspect of the hot springs was the surrounding greenery. There were huge leafy trees looming over the fence and pool. Sakura loved nature and was always relaxed by it.

While the inn was empty, save for the boys and the hostess, enemies were never far away. She decided to mask her chakra lest anyone unwanted attempted to track her.

Padding towards the bath, she placed her towel beside the edge of the pool and slowly got in the bath. First her toes, then her feet, legs, are torso were submersed in the hot water. She dunked her head under and bobbed back up. She sat on a built in bench in the pool and stretched her arms. Her tight sore muscles began to relax as the hot water soothed and softened her body. Hot springs did wonders for the body after strenuous exercise or travel. Sakura made a note to thank Naruto for the surprisingly smart suggestion.

She closed her eyes and relished in the silence while she could. Kami knows that it wouldn't last once Naruto and Sasuke got into their bath. She just prayed that there wasn't any damaged property or broken bones.

**X**

While Sakura enjoyed her relaxing bath, Sasuke was tasked with taking care of Naruto who had a belly ache from eating too much, thus rendering him unable to walk. Five minutes passed and Sasuke grew tired of waiting for Naruto to regain mobility.

"Dobe, get up now or I'm leaving without you!" the angry nin ordered.

"Wait, just watch my stuff while I ask the hostess for some medicine. If I'm not back in three minutes, you can take my stuff and leave," Naruto replied.

Before Sasuke had a chance to say no, Naruto bolted out of the room. Instead of going to the hostess, he masked his chakra and dashed towards the east wing. He couldn't contain his mischievous grin because his plan was going just as he intended. He pestered Sakura to make her leave, and he faked his stomach ache to make Sasuke wait around a bit which would give Sakura ample time to enter the bath.

He spotted each end of the hallway with signs indicating the separate male and female bathes just as he remembered. He was lucky that layout of the inn hadn't changed since he needed to know the layout in order for his plan to work.

Now, he needed to execute the final part of his plan to ensure success. The sneaky blond nin quickly grabbed the sign on the door of the women's bath and switched it with the sign on the male's bath. After both of the signs were swapped, he headed to the next hallway over in order to prevent running into Sasuke as the three minutes had passed. More importantly, it would guarantee that Sasuke entered the bath and encountered Sakura alone. He would see Sakura in less than modest attire, realize his attraction towards her, and finally make a move on her. Sakura and Sasuke would be so distracted by each other that they wouldn't question the swapped signs.

Naruto didn't want nor need to be there for that. He was just the wingman and had no intention of getting knocked out by Sakura. Plus, if things got _romantic_ between his friends, he didn't want to hear or see it. Even though Jiraiya was his mentor, he didn't take up his creepy habit of spying on women in baths.

While Naruto was sure his plan would work, it did cross his mind that things could get violent. Sakura could get angry at Sasuke for walking in on her, so Naruto had a plan B. He would stay on guard close by in the west wing and swap the signs back. That way, Sasuke would look like the bad guy and have to earn his way back into Sakura's good graces - or pants. Either scenario worked for Naruto, but the preferable scenario was quicker and didn't involve an angry Sakura.

Naruto hid around the corner in the other hallway and waited for Sasuke to enter the baths. Moments later, he spotted his brooding friend clenching Naruto's belongings and mumbling about a lazy idiot as he struggled to open the door.

Just as Naruto had hoped, his Uchiha friend went to the right side of the hallway and entered the newly labelled men's bath. Sakura wouldn't detect Sasuke since Sasuke always masked his chakra at hot springs. Apparently, a rabid fangirl had tracked him down and welcomed herself into his bath. Evidently, Sasuke was not pleased so he took precautions to avoid a similar incident.

Naruto slowly crept into the east wing and switched the signs back to their original places. Pleased with his work, he went to the men's bath (the real one) to relax and let his plans unfold.

**X**

Sasuke was very irritated with his blond friend for delaying his bathing and then saddling him with his junk. Being a reluctantly loyal friend, he decided to wait three minutes for the blond idiot. He didn't show in time, so Sasuke made his way to the hot springs. He didn't feel guilty because he needed a bath and was done with Naruto's bullshit.

The handsome man turned right and saw the men's bath. He had a more difficult time turning the handle since his hands were full of his best friend's belongings. He cursed Naruto for being a lazy idiot and finally opened the door.

He disrobed and put his and Naruto's belongings in separate lockers. He sensed the area and didn't detect anyone in the hot springs. He was looking forward to some much deserved alone time.

Sasuke securely wrapped his towel around his waist and entered the hot spring. He heard a gasp and saw Sakura - a wet, nude Sakura who looked very surprised. Sasuke was just as surprised to see her except he didn't have his mouth open.

He should be mad at her for being in the men's bath, but he couldn't be mad when she looked so alluring. Her skin was slick and smooth while her long locks clung to her bosom. Sasuke couldn't help but blush as his teammates enticing form of lush curves.

Initially, Sakura was shocked by his sudden entrance. Sasuke wasn't like Jiraiya or even interested in girls, so it was surprising that he let himself into the women's bath. Then, she was embarrassed their lack of clothing. She had just been lamenting over her physique and Sasuke appeared while she was completely exposed. Just her luck. On the plus side, she got to see Sasuke's six pack and big arms.

However, now that she had regained some of her senses, she was pissed off. How dare Sasuke walk in on her while she was bathing! Even if it was Sasuke and it was totally out of character for him, she was angry at his blatant disrespect of her privacy. Plus, his ogling was freaking her out.

She snatched her towel and put it on in the bath. She stood up and marched over to Sasuke who had resumed his apathetic visage.

"Sasuke, what the hell are you doing in the women's bath? This is not like you at all! You're invading my privacy!" she fired at him as she crossed her arms and held her towel up.

Sasuke coughed and tried to look away from the scantily clad Sakura. The small towel didn't leave much to the imagination. Her crossing her arms also increased her cleavage quite a bit.

"This is the men's bath, so you're the one invading my privacy," he said plainly.

Sakura was fuming at his response, and she could feel the metaphorical steam coming out of her ears. He didn't acknowledge his actions nor apologize. In fact, he was blaming her for the predicament and lying. This was most certainly the women's bath as the sign indicated.

It was entirely unacceptable to barge in on someone bathing, but it was even more unacceptable to lie and blame it on the other person. Sakura expected this type of immature behavior from someone much younger and expected this perverted behavior from Jiraiya.

"This is definitely the women's bath Sasuke-kun," she retorted. She glared at him to reiterate her anger at him. He should feel bad and just say sorry like a normal person, but this was Sasuke. He didn't do normal.

Sasuke smirked at her ridiculous claim. Moments ago, he saw the sign labeling this as the men's bath. Sakura was either lying or delusional. He was confident of that.

"Are you sure?" he challenged her.

"Yes! Let's go to the entrance, and I'll prove it to you!" she answered.

"Fine."

Sasuke wasn't worried at all because Sakura was going to make herself look like an idiot all on her own. All he had to do was sit back and watch. She had also seemed to have forgotten her state of attire, so Sasuke got to enjoy that view as well.

The pair exited the bath and then the changing room. They stood outside and the entrance in front of the door which was clearly labelled 'Women's Hot Springs'.

"See! I told you so! You are such a creep! Don't come back in!" Sakura snapped.

She stormed back into the women's hot springs while Sasuke was left flabbergasted. He swore on his brother's life that the sign said 'Men's Hot Springs'. Now Sakura thought he was a lecher and would be mad at him for who knows how long. Someone had to have done something. Or maybe, this was some terrible genjutsu!

"Kai," he said. Nothing happened which proved that his current circumstances were reality, not a genjutsu.

Sasuke ran his hand through his locks as frustration gripped his being. Just as he decided to change into his clothing and apologize to Sakura, he realized that he left his clothes in the women's hot springs. This was just not Sasuke Uchiha's day.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: **

About five minutes after stepping into the hot springs, Naruto heard lots of shouting from across the fence. It seemed that Sakura was not pleased with Sasuke's unexpected intrusion, so he decided not to interfere and get caught in the crossfire. The blond trickster inwardly sighed at the unfortunate turn of events. He had hoped and half expected Sakura to be happy and take Sasuke in with open arms. Then they'd hook up, become official, boyfriend and girlfriend, and Naruto could become a jonin within the month. If only it was that easy.

There was still a chance for the two to get together before the month was over; however, it would have to involve Sasuke apologizing and begging for Sakura's forgiveness. Knowing how prideful his best friend could be, Naruto acknowledged that an apology could take a while. Maybe there was some way to speed up the process.

Wait, there was! Sasuke would be pissed with Naruto, but he would get over it once he was happily coupled with Sakura. It didn't cross the blond's mind that his friends wouldn't get together, and he also assumed that all would be forgiven once they did. Naruto wasn't called the number one knuckle headed ninja for nothing.

Naruto's train of thought was interrupted by a door slamming. He assumed that Sasuke got kicked out and snickered at his friend's misfortune. Moments later, Sasuke appeared next to the men's hot spring. His fists were balled up and he was gritting his teeth.

"Um hey teme. What's up?" Naruto questioned casually as he crossed his arms behind his head and looked up at his friend.

"Nothing," he ground out.

Sasuke got into the bath and tried to act as if he hadn't made the most embarrassing mistake in his life. He crossed his arms, reclined back, and covered his face with his towel.

The blond decided not to press his friend on the matter since he seemed to be pretty pissy. Plus, he basically knew what happened, and it was likely that Sakura would fill him in later. A few minutes passed and he decided to get out of the hot springs and change into his set of clean clothes. He went back to the changing room and looked for his clothes but couldn't find them or Sasuke's for that matter.

Puzzled, he went to ask Sasuke about it.

"Hey teme? Where are my clothes? I looked everywhere and couldn't find them!" he yelled while waving his hands animatedly.

Sasuke knew this was coming. When he told him where the clothes were, Naruto would jump to conclusions about and think he was a pervert. It was best to be casual about it, so he wouldn't react as much.

"The other changing room," he said as his face betrayed no emotion.

Naruto had to act surprised as if he hadn't known what transpired moments ago, so Sasuke wouldn't suspect anything. It was time to play his part. He opened his mouth and widened his eyes, almost comically.

"Hold up? The women's changing room? What were you doing there?! Oh my gosh, you were peeping on Sakura-chan you pervert!" he concluded as he pointed his pointed his finger accusingly at his best friend.

"It was an accident. I am not a pervert," he explained with a hint of frustration. How dare Naruto accuse him of being a pervert!

"How could it be an accident? The hot springs are clearly labelled! How could you not see that?! You've got sharingan for Kami's sake!" he interrogated.

"It said it was the men's baths when I first went in. I swear!" Sasuke countered defensively.

"Yeah sure. I bet it's because you have the hots for Sakura-chan!"

Before the Uchiha could respond angrily, Naruto added, "Well, at least I know you're not gay now!" he said with a wink.

He was having a great time accusing Sasuke of being a pervert and teasing him about Sakura. It was so funny to watch Mr. Perfect squirm.

" Shut up. Just go get our clothes," Sasuke ordered.

"Why can't you do that teme? You're the one who left our clothes in there!" the blond argued.

"Sakura wouldn't be too happy to see me. She'd kill me before I could get the clothing, and you'd have to go get it anyways," he retorted. Stupid Naruto. It was obvious that he was the only one who could get their belongings.

"Fine, but you owe me," Naruto responded with a sigh. Secretly, he couldn't wait to cash in his little favor with Sasuke. He left the men's bath and went to the women's changing room to retrieve their items. Smartly, he knocked on the door before entering. A clothed Sakura answered the door and shoved the clothing in his hands while mumbling something about a closet pervert.

**X **

He had replayed the incident over and over again, and he was absolutely certain that he saw the sign labelled as the men's bath. There was no genjutsu because he would have sensed it if there was one.

The signs could have been tampered with, but the only people present at the hot springs were the hostess, Sakura, and Naruto. The hostess had no motive. She was a polite elderly woman, and she was the only employee, so she had to have been in the lobby to welcome incoming customers. Sakura couldn't have changed the sign back to the women's bath because she was with Sasuke right after he saw the sign as the men's bath. She wouldn't have had enough time to do anything.

That left Naruto. Sasuke scoffed at the idea of Naruto being able to pull off something like that. He also had a protective streak for Sakura and hated any man showing romantic interest in her. It didn't make sense for him to deliberately tamper with the signs because it would lead to a man walking into the women's bath and inevitable seeing Sakura in a less than modest state just as Sasuke had.

She was completely naked at first. No clothing to cover her beautiful body. Her creamy milky skin was on full display and her cleavage was peaking above the water. The towel did little to hide her figure. In fact, it accentuated her small waist, slim hips, and full breasts.

Wait a minute what was he thinking? This was Sakura he was thinking about. Annoying and clingy Sakura who would constantly worry about his health, encourage him when he doubted himself, and stick by his side no matter how rude or standoffish he was. Damn it. What was he feeling? Naruto couldn't be right. He did not like Sakura as anything other than a friend even if he really _really _liked seeing her indecently.

Naruto entered the changing room with clothing in tow and handed Sasuke his stuff.

"You're lucky I picked these up. Sakura-chan seems to be in a bad mood. She told me what happened, and I can't blame her," Naruto commented.

"Hn. Let's hurry up and get dressed, so we can get back to the village," the Uchiha replied as he stepped out of the pool and headed to the changing room.

"Yeah. I can't wait to see Hinata-chan and get this stupid mission over with!" his best friend agreed.

The boys left the changing room and met Sakura in the lobby where they paid the hostess. The group left the hot springs shortly after paying and headed to their village. Konoha was a few hours away, so they would arrive just before evening fall. Everyone was looking forward to getting home, especially Sakura.

She had been unusually quiet and avoided eye contact with Sasuke for the entire duration of the trip. Sasuke wasn't any better as he also avoided looking at Sakura. With the pair ignoring each other, Naruto felt caught in the middle. He needed to get home and out of this awkward third wheeling situation as soon as possible!

**X**

After what felt like a million years, which was only 3 hours, the group had safely reached Konoha. Each member silently sighed of relief. As soon as they passed through the gates, Sakura bounded away to give Tsunade their mission report. She was extremely proactive but also disliked uncomfortable situations.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders at her speedy exit. The pair walked to the south side of the village where they would later split off to go their separate ways. Just as Sasuke felt relieved from the discomfort of being around Sakura, Naruto decided to make him uncomfortable with a series of rather uncomfortable questions.

"Sooooo," the blond drawled as Sasuke eyed him suspiciously.

"What was it like?"

"What is it?" he said as he feigned lack of understanding. Sasuke crossed his arms and tried to think of anything but Sakura in the nude. However, he was doing a terrible job and his neck was turning red.

"You know! Seeing Sakura-chan naked!" he almost yelled.

"Would you keep it down dobe?! Half the village can hear you!" he whispered angrily.

"Fine. I'm just curious since this is the first time you've shown interest in a girl," Naruto relayed in a softer voice.

Sasuke scoffed. His accidental intrusion didn't mean he was interested in Sakura. It was an accident! He didn't intentionally seek her out because he most definitely did not have a crush on Haruno Sakura.

"Don't scowl at me! You can't blame me for being interested," Naruto explained.

He trying to get Sasuke to verbally admit his feelings for Sakura or at least compliment her physique, so he would have some practice before dating her.

"I'm not obliged to tell you anything," the Uchiha stated nonchalantly. He knew his response would frustrate Naruto so much that he would forget what he was talking about.

"I'm your best friend! We're supposed to tell each other important things!" Naruto remarqued as his nostrils flared in anger.

"Exactly. Important things. The matter of Sakura's physique is not important," he replied smartly.

"Ugh! You're impossible! Forget it!" the blond stated as he threw his hands up in the air. As Sasuke had predicted, Naruto got so frustrated that he quit pestering Sasuke. Naruto was too predictable sometimes, or so Sasuke thought.

The rest of the walk was pretty silent. Naruto was still irritated as Sasuke's unwillingness to express his feelings about Sakura. Eventually, they reached the intersection where they would go their separate ways.

Naruto was about to turn and leave when Sasuke called out to him.

"Dobe. Kaa-san invited you to dinner tomorrow at 6:30 pm. Don't be late," he stated as he turned on his heel and headed towards the Uchiha district.

Naruto smirked as his next part of the plan would be in motion soon. He returned to his apartment where a delicious dinner and his lovely girlfriend were waiting. The couple tried to see each other right after missions as they were able. It was a nice tradition especially when Hinata cooked. For now, Naruto would enjoy his time with Hinata and save the plotting for tomorrow morning.

**X**

The next evening rolled around quickly, and Naruto was ready to make some real progress on his G.S.S mission. He was determined to get his best friends together and become a jonin. In his humble opinion, both items were long overdue.

Promptly at 6:30 pm, Naruto stood at the entrance of the main Uchiha house and knocked. Sasuke answered the door and let him in. He informed Naruto that they would be dining with Shisui and his mother. Itachi was busy on a solo Anbu mission while Fugaku was at a village council meeting which could run all night. The village elders always had lots of opinions and their sweet time giving them.

The pair made their way to the dining room and sat down. The head family house was rather traditional in style and placement. It was laced in the back of the compound, as a security precaution. The house was one floor but extremely wide. A wooden porch outlined the front and back sides of the house. Inside, the décor was mostly navy, white, and red in keeping with the Uchiha crest colors.

Naruto always enjoyed visiting the Uchiha household as they were the closest people he had to family. Mikoto had made a special point to invite him over as often as she could since he was her close friend's son and Sasuke's best friend. Initially, there had been some resistance from the Uchiha elders since Naruto had a bad reputation which could negatively impact the Uchiha's reputation. Before Fugaku was awarded a seat on the village council, relations between the Uchiha and villagers were tenuous.

The Uchiha matriarch respectfully disagreed with the elders and offered a different perspective. It would be good for the host of the jinkurichi to be under the watchful eye of the police. The Uchiha would play the part of the village protectors and once more gain popular support. Of course, this was not her motivation behind bringing Naruto into the family. Thankfully, the elders bought it and stopped fussing. With how cunning and diplomatic Mikoto was, it was obvious where Itachi got it from.

Speaking of the Uchiha matriarch, she entered the dining room and placed the plates of food on the dinner table. She sat down and gracefully folded her hands on her lap. Tonight's menu consisted of grilled salmon, roasted vegetables, and rice balls.

"Hey Mikoto-san! Thanks so much for inviting me for dinner! It looks and smells delicious," Naruto exclaimed with a wide grin. With chopsticks in hand and paper bib in place, Naruto was ready to dig in. Mikoto made some of the best food which rivaled Hinata's cooking and Ichiraku.

"You're welcome Naruto-kun. It's always a pleasure having you over. Help yourselves to the food. Shisui is running a little late," she replied with a gentle smile.

Naruto wasted no time loaded up his plate with the scrumptious looking assortment of food.

Just as he was grabbing his fifth rice ball, Sasuke grasped his wrist.

"Dobe, leave some food for the rest of us," Sasuke ordered.

"It's ok Sasuke. I have plenty more food in the kitchen," Mikoto swiftly cut in before a fight could break out.

Sasuke retreated his hand and began to eat his food. He wouldn't dare disobey his mother. She was very kind, but she could be scarier than Sakura sometimes.

The nearby shogi door slid open to reveal a frazzled Shisui. He entered the dining room and immediately bowed to his aunt and apologized for his tardiness. Apparently with Fugaku attending to village council matters and Sasuke being away on that mission resulted in an increased workload for Shisui at the police station.

"Shisui, it's no trouble at all. I understand that you have important duties. Come sit and eat with us," the Uchiha matriarch invited as she gestured to the seat cushion next to her.

"You don't have to tell me twice. You're the best cook in the clan Oba-san," Shisui responded. He took the seat next to his aunt and began filling his plate.

"You're too kind," Mikoto added with a giggle.

Dinner went smoothly with conversation about Naruto's recent dates with Hinata, Shisui's caseload, and Mikoto's plans for a celebration for Sasuke's promotion. She wanted to have a grand event with fireworks by the lake, paddle boats, and a barbeque. Sasuke unsuccessfully tried to dissuade his mother from making it a large event since he didn't want the attention or for the event to be a source of stress for her since she was also planning Itachi's wedding. However, Mikoto was happy to do it and wanted to celebrate his accomplishments. Sasuke resigned his protests because he knew his mother was just trying to show that she cared.

"Sasuke, Naruto tell me about your latest mission. Did it go well?" Mikoto inquired.

Sasuke answered because he was afraid that Naruto might give away some details that he certainly did not want his mother to know.

"Uneventful. It was a simple escort mission," he informed her.

"That's good. I'm just glad that you're back safe and sound. Otherwise, I wouldn't have as many people to cook for!" she noted.

Naruto almost laughed at Sasuke's remark which turned into a terrible cough. Mikoto asked if he ok and offered to get him some tea.

"I'm fine. Just had some food go down the wrong way!" he explained.

"How did the mission go for you Naruto?" Mikoto asked gently. She could tell that something was up.

"Well it was fine for me, but not for Sakura. Our charge kept flirting with her. It was totally gross!" he babbled as he shoveled more food in his mouth.

"Well, I can't blame him for trying. Sakura-chan is pretty easy on the eyes," Shisui added with a smirk.

"Hey that's my teammate!" Naruto rebuked. Shisui chuckled. He and his baby cousin Sasuke were too protective of Sakura. She was hot, smart, and an elite ninja. Of course, she was going to get a lot of male attention.

"Sakura-chan is an attractive woman, but it's very disrespectful for a charge to treat her so indecently," Mikoto supplied thoughtfully. All of the men nodded in agreement.

"But at least she had you two to protect her," she added.

"Well, actually…" Naruto started until Sasuke gave him a look that could kill. Sasuke prayed that Naruto wouldn't say anything to his mom. She adored Sakura and would be devastated if she knew of his actions. He didn't want to deal with an upset Mikoto. It meant a month of his least favorite meals and having to do his own laundry. Or worse, shuriken practice. The women had dangerously accurate aim.

"Yes Naruto," she said urging him to continue.

"Sakura had another pervert after her. Someone walked in on her at the hot springs," Naruto stated.

Mikoto gasped and asked, "Oh my, who was it?" Shisui silently thought that whoever got to see Sakura naked was one lucky bastard. He didn't have romantic feelings for Sakura, but he could appreciate a good looking woman.

Meanwhile, Sasuke willed Naruto to shut up, but the chatterbox never knew when to stop talking. Instead, he crossed his arms and glared as fiercely as he could at the knucklehead in an attempt to silence him. Much to his dismay, Naruto didn't shut up.

"Sasuke did it! He said that the sign said men's, but it said women's on it when he tried to show Sakura!" he revealed.

Covering her mouth with her hand, Mikoto was speechless. She was absolutely horrified at her son's lascivious actions. She groomed him to be a gentlemen and respect women. Now, she was starting to regret insisting that Kakashi train Sasuke. It seemed that he had picked up more than jutsu from his perverted sensei.

"Lucky bastard! I didn't know you had it in you. I was worried that you were asexual or something," Shisui complemented his cousin.

Sasuke growled and crossed his arms. If he could be anywhere else, he would rather be there. In fact, Orochimaru's lab sounded appealing. Maybe he should have taken up the snake man's invitation to train him, so he wouldn't be here in this terribly awkward situation.

"It was an accident. The door was labelled men's when I entered. Then, when we exited, it was labelled women's. Someone must have tampered with the sign," he explained.

"How convenient teme. Now, it's affecting our team dynamic, and you violated Sakura-chan!" Naruto remarked firmly.

Mikoto sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Sakura was Sasuke's only non-related female friend and one of his only friends. With his reckless behavior, he had jeopardized his friendship and team cohesion all the while in the most inappropriate manner.

Finally, the matriarch spoke.

"Sasuke. I am very disappointed in your behavior. I thought I taught you how to respect women, especially those closest to you. You need to apologize and fix things with Sakura immediately." Her authoritative tone and posture left no room for discussion.

Sasuke lowered his head in shame. "Yes Kaa-san."

He was so embarrassed. Not only did his mother know, but so did Shisui which meant that the whole village would know by sundown tomorrow. Shisui loved to gossip, an unfortunate habit he picked up from his old flame Ino. Naruto was going to be _dead_ last. He didn't think it was possible for him to be this irritated with the blond.

"Wait! I know how you can make it up to Sakura-chan! Take her to the Spring festival. She's really excited to go, but she doesn't have a date, and I know that definitely you don't have one," Naruto suggested with a smirk.

Now, Sasuke was even more irritated. Was Naruto determined to wound his pride even more? He was not going to ask Sakura on a date. It was weird and could turn disastrous since she was pretty upset with him.

"That's a lovely idea Naruto! Sasuke, I'll make lunch for you to bring to Sakura tomorrow, and then you can invite her," Mikoto relayed.

Damn his mother and her unstoppable plans. He didn't dare complain because he was already in the doghouse. Refusing his mother or not following her _suggestions_ was not an option if he wanted to live.

"Fine," Sasuke said trying to hold back the vemon rising from chest.

Shisui was having a great time watching all of this upfold. Usually he was the one mixed up in some type of female troubles, but for once it wasn't him. Poor Sasuke. He wouldn't be surprised if Sakura turned him down since he intruded on her at the hot springs. That was Jiraiya level creepy which wasn't the way to a woman's heart. It was the way to a restraining order and a concussion.

Everyone was finished eating, so Mikoto cleaned up with some help from Shisui. She instructed Sasuke to escort his guest out. Sasuke was glad for the order because he could finally give Naruto a piece of his mind.

Once the pair was outside on the porch and out of earshot, Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the collar and looked him straight in the eyes.

"Dobe. You are dead. I can't believe you told Kaa-san about the incident. She's never going to get over this, and you gave her the stupid idea that I should apologize to Sakura by taking her on a date!" he seethed.

"Sorry teme. I have thoughts, and they just come out without me thinking about it. Consider your favor to me repaid," Naruto answered with an apologetic smile.

Sasuke let go of his collar and told him to go home. He was mad at Naruto, but he was at fault. He should have been more attentive and noticed that he had entered the women's bath. It also didn't help that he had blamed Sakura for the circumstances before he could apologize.

He went back inside and retreated to his room for a good night's sleep. He was going have a hellish day trying to get back into Sakura's good graces. It would suck, but it was necessary. His last intention was to violate her and make her feel uncomfortable to the point that she couldn't look at him. He felt guilty and even more so now that his mother found out. Somehow, he was going to fix this even if it meant going on a date with Sakura, which might not be bad. Getting her to agree was the hard part. It wouldn't be easy with her. After all, she was _annoying. _


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: **I'm so sorry I haven't been updating lately! I've had a ton of work and family functions, so I haven't had a lot of time. Please enjoy this update!

**X**

**Chapter 9: **

Work was something Sakura always looked forward to. She was good at her job, made a decent salary, but most importantly, she got to help others. Helping others gave her a purpose. Fighting in battles, taking out bandits, and other typical ninja duties were important, but healing was just as and even more so important. At times, people were more likely to die from a heart attack or nasty flu rather than enemy nin invading the village. Being a medic-nin was Sakura's true calling and joy in life. Nothing compared to the feeling of bringing a baby into the world or performing a life-saving surgery.

When she first started training as a medic-nin, it was very difficult. She was intelligent, but there was so much for her to learn. In her early years of training, she would spend hours pouring over studies and scrolls Tsunade had given her. She expanded her knowledge on procedures, diseases, poisons, hospital protocol, etc. The world of medicine was constantly evolving, so there was always something new to learn, which suited Sakura's studious nature.

Today, she was especially thankful for work because she could focus on her patients instead of the incident. Work often helped her escape and cope with her personal issues. When Sasuke and Naruto both left the village to train, Sakura threw herself into her work in order to distract her from her loneliness. Instead of moping around the village because she felt abandoned by her teammates, she channeled her energy into becoming a medic-nin.

Usually, work did a great job keeping her mind from wandering, but she was still on edge. During the trek home she was shocked, but now she was downright embarrassed. Uchiha Sasuke had seen her naked! Her longtime crush of recipient of her unrequited love had seen her completely bare without a stitch of clothing. Her cheeks couldn't help but redden at the memory.

This was a nightmare! It was going to be next to impossible to be around Sasuke and not feel awkward. It also didn't help that both of them were ignoring each other thus making the situation more awkward and more obvious. She knew that she should try to talk to him and make up because he was unlikely to do so. Uchiha Sasuke rarely apologized. She could count on one hand how many times she recalled him apologizing for something. Making the first move and approaching Sasuke was probably the right thing to do, but she was so mad at him and still embarrassed. She just needed to focus on work. Today, she had a light day: one non-invasive surgery, two routine checkups, and some paperwork. She even had time for a lunch break which she would gladly take after her next checkup.

She took out her paperwork and began to fill it out. Just as she had gotten into her groove, there was a knock at the door. She sighed and looked up from her work.

"Come in!"

The door creaked open to reveal one of the interns who was carrying a huge basket of flowers. Sakura stood and helped her place them on the table.

" Thank you Mina! Who are these from?" Sakura inquired.

"I'm not sure Haruno-san. They were at the front desk when I got here this morning. Someone must have dropped them off pretty early," the young girl replied.

Sakura knit her brows in confusion. Did she have a secret admirer?

"I won't keep you from your other duties. Thank you for dropping these off Mina," Sakura responded.

"My pleasure Haruno-san," Mina stated. She bowed and quietly took her leave.

Sakura turned her head back to the bouquet. It was an ornate arrangement of white lilies, red roses, sage, and begonia. Whoever had gifted her these flowers must be pretty well-off to afford such an expensive bouquet. Upon further inspection, Sakura found a small envelope nestled deep within the flowers. It must have gotten hidden from all of the movement of carrying and setting it down.

She turned the envelope over to open it and spotted the daimyo's seal. Immediately, she had a sinking feeling that her secret admirer was not so secret. She tried to calm herself and not jump to conclusions. This could be a grateful and completely platonic gesture. However, there were red roses. Being best friends with Ino, she had some knowledge on the meaning of flowers. She knew that red roses were used to signal romantic love, so the red roses couldn't be a coincidence. Someone who took the time to send her flowers would have taken the time to order arrangement to convey a specific message. This had to be a romantic gesture. Kami help her.

Finally, she opened the envelope and unfolded the note.

_Dear Sakura, _

_ I would be honored if you would accompany me to the Spring ball at the capital in ten days. Please notify me of your answer using the address below. I hope to see your beautiful face soon. _

_ From,_

_Ren _

Fuck. Ren had invited her to one of the most important events of the year, and she couldn't just turn him down without a good reason. He was a son of the daimyo! How was she going to get out of this?! She could use work as an excuse, but Ren could easily contact Tsunade and get her to ease up Sakura's schedule. Knowing how desperate Tsunade was for her to date, she would do it. The Spring festival was on the same day as the Spring ball, but she didn't have anyone to go with as all of her friends were going with their significant other or on missions. Lying was an option, but then she would feel guilty.

Ren seemed like a nice guy, but Sakura wasn't interested in him. They had next to nothing in common since he was a civilian, and she would have to quit being a ninja if they got married since he was a royal. Most importantly, he wasn't Sasuke. Sakura had made up her mind about how she felt about Ren, and she was sticking to it.

Now she just had to find someone to go to the festival with. The last thing she needed was Ren showing up to the festival and seeing her without a date or more plausibly, getting someone to spy on her. She wasn't going to risk getting caught in a lie, and she didn't want to hurt Ren's feelings by being dishonest.

She made a mental note to call Ino later tonight and figure out who didn't have a date to the festival. Her blond friend was a great source of information for stuff like this. Ino always had the skinny on who was getting a rank promotion, who was sleeping with who, etc. Most of the time, Sakura couldn't care less about waterhole gossip, but every so often her friend's gossiping came in handy.

Sakura looked up at her clock and headed towards the surgery wing. She had a non-invasive surgery to prepare for. Someone had fallen on some broken glass a few days ago causing some semi-deep cuts and thus needed to be stitched up. After the surgery, she could have lunch. She was thinking about getting lunch from a near-by food cart and eating in the small courtyard near her office. It was peaceful and quiet as many people weren't aware of its location. She wanted to relax for a bit before she had to tell a member of the royal family that she wasn't interested in him and simultaneously hide it from her gossipy best friend.

Ino had been constantly trying to set her up on dates that Sakura had no interest in. If the blond discovered that a rich, handsome eligible son of the daimyo had asked Sakura on a date, she would push Sakura to go for it. Sakura didn't want to explain that she was still in love with Sasuke as Ino had made her position on Sasuke very clear. She thought that Sakura could do better than a broody Uchiha who didn't seem interested in anyone. As far as she was concerned, Sasuke was a lost cause and Sakura was better off looking for greener pastures elsewhere. Sakura sighed because some of what Ino believed was true, especially the broody part. After what happened at the baths, Sakura knew that Sasuke was not immune to the opposite sex. She saw the way he looked at her with lust and wanting. The whole thing was embarrassing, but at least she had clear proof that Sasuke wasn't asexual. It would have been nice if he could have just said he thought she was hot instead of walking in on her maked.

Sakura just couldn't be that lucky. Things between her and Sasuke were always complicated.

**X**

A few hours later, Uchiha Sasuke stood in front of Sakura's office. He knew how he was there and why, but he still couldn't believe it himself. He wasn't nervous. He was annoyed. Here he was in front of Sakura's office with two bento boxes, courtesy of his mother, hoping that he could resolve this whole situation and get on with his life.

Honestly, this stupid idea was all Naruto's fault. If that blond idiot hadn't told his mother about the incident and his grand idea to fix it, Sasuke wouldn't be here. He had no desire to ask Sakura to attend the Spring festival with him as it wouldn't fix anything. One date wouldn't make up for the most humiliating experience of Sakura's life.

Not to mention, the likelihood of her accepting the invitation was very slim. She'd open the door, take one look at him, and slam the door in his face. They weren't really on speaking terms right now. He was just going to make a complete fool of himself.

However, if Sasuke didn't at least try to rectify the situation, his mother would have his neck. Mikoto adored Sakura and thought of her as the daughter she never had, so Sasuke walking in on the pinkette in the baths was practically a declaration of war. Ever since the incident, Mikoto had been constantly lecturing him on the importance of decency and respect. She had also taken to nagging him about talking to Sakura. Sasuke sighed. His mother could be just as annoying as Sakura sometimes, but in a different way of course.

Fed up with his inner-turmoil, he knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Sakura spoke through the door.

Sasuke took a deep breath, exhaled, and opened the door. Sakura was currently consumed by paperwork, so she didn't look up to see who it was.

"Sorry! I'm just finishing up some…." she apologized until she looked up and saw Sasuke. At first, she was flabbergasted, but she regained her composure and a stern look appeared on her visage. Just what the hell was he doing? He couldn't just show up at her work without any notice. It was totally inconsiderate.

"Sasuke, why are you here?" she inquired.

"To talk. I figured now would be ok since Naruto told me that this is your lunch break." he stated as he placed a bento box on her desk.

It was common knowledge that Sasuke's mom was an amazing cook. Team 7 had the pleasure of enjoying her meals, and they especially loved her bento boxes. Back when they were genin, Mikoto would bring homemade bento boxes for each member which made the grueling training sessions a little more worthwhile.

Sakura had not eaten one of Mikoto's bento boxes for a while, so she was seriously considering accepting Sasuke's lunch invitation even if she had to resolve 'the incident' once and for all.

"Fine. Give a moment to put my paperwork away, and we can eat in the courtyard where no one will bother us," she replied.

Sasuke nodded. Now, he was pretty grateful that his mother had given him a bento box for Sakura. Mothers know best, not that Sasuke would tell Mikoto that.

While Sakura shuffled away her paperwork, Sasuke spotted the gargantuan bouquet of flowers on a nearby table. They weren't ugly per-say, but they weren't Sakura. She wasn't flashy, so whoever got her those flowers clearly didn't know her that well.

Sakura noticed Sasuke looking at the flowers and decided to toy with him.

"Oh, those are just from a friend," she explained with a coy smile. It wasn't lying since Ren was kind of her friend.

"Who?"

"No one important. Let's go now," she said as she gestured Sasuke towards the door. She knew that he'd be bothered that he didn't know who sent her the flowers. Sasuke never liked not knowing information that others knew. Ninja were trained to gather information no matter how trivial it seemed because the information could come in handy later.

Sasuke was even more annoyed with Sakura's antics. He knew that she was just baiting him as a little way to get back at him. He couldn't stand not knowing who sent her the flowers and why she wouldn't tell him who sent them. Could it be a secret admirer? Not that he cared _one bit. _

The pair entered the courtyard and sat at the picnic table in the center of the enclave. The trees above and bushes around the perimeter provided ample shade and privacy.

"What did you want to talk to me about?' Sakura asked the moment she took a seat at the table.

Sasuke looked down and mumbled something.

"I can't hear you," the pinkette responded with a tone of frustration.

He cleared his throat and tried again. He hated these types of uncomfortable situations.

"I'm here to apologize for … the incident. I respect you as a teammate and friend, so it shouldn't have happened - even if by accident."

Sakura's eyes nearly popped out of her head. She had expected Sasuke to argue with her and suggest that they forget it ever happened. An apology was unexpected, but wholly welcomed.

"Sasuke-kun. Thank you. It means a lot to me that you apologized. I wanted to talk to you too, but I am still really upset. Even if it was an accident, I was so embarrassed and didn't know how to react."

Sasuke was relieved and amazed by her grace. Here she was thanking him when he screwed up. Her reaction, while violent and loud, was understandable. He had never made any inappropriate advances towards her like many other men had. To be honest, he felt very guilty. He never wanted to make her uncomfortable or scared.

"I know. I should have been more aware of my surroundings. It won't happen again. I promise."

Sakura nodded and smiled.

"Let's enjoy our lunches now. I haven't had one of your mom's bento boxes in ages!" she exclaimed.

Thankful for the change of subject, they both ate their meals and talked about work, family, etc. Sasuke loved the way Sakura's eyes lit up when she talked about her patients or the birthday party she was planning for her mother. She was kind, smart, and had a sweet smile. Maybe going to the Spring festival with her wasn't such a bad idea.

"My mom has been trying to persuade me to go to the Spring festival. She thinks I need to do something fun and not work related," Sasuke mentioned.

Sakura giggled. Mikoto was always trying to get Sasuke to do more social things since she didn't want him to become a complete recluse. It annoyed him to no end, but his mother had good intentions.

"She's just trying to be helpful. Plus, the festival will be nice and relaxing since there's no impending wars," Sakura added.

He couldn't help but smirk because it seemed that since they were genin, the Spring festival was always interrupted by someone invading the village. Things had been pretty peaceful since the Fourth Shinobi War, so there hadn't been any formidable enemies to worry about.

"I suppose you're right. Are you going with anyone?" he asked casually. Now was his chance to ask her since she was in a good mood.

"Oh, um, well no. Usually, I go with Ino, but she's going with her boyfriend Sai. Naruto is going with Hinata too. I don't want to be weird and third wheel…" she rambled. She was confused as to why Sasuke was asking if she was going with anyone. It would be great if he asked her to go to the festival, so she could reject Ren in good conscience. She also liked the idea of spending some more alone time with Sasuke.

"Well would you, er, want to…. go with me?" he stuttered out. So much for suave.

Sakura gasped in supreme shock. Sasuke had been acting so out of character lately. The hot springs, the apology, and now this! She desperately wanted to go with him but only if his invitation was sincere.

"I'd like to, but this isn't because your mom forced you to ask me right?" It would be characteristic of Mikoto to pressure Sasuke into asking her out. It was clear that Mikoto wanted the two to get together. She tried to be subtle, but her excitement at the possibility of the pair was apparent.

"She did suggest it, but I wouldn't ask you to go if I didn't want to." he stated plainly.

It was best to be honest Sakura because she was straightforward and never liked inauthenticity. It was one of her traits that Sasuke admired most. He had experienced his fair share of fake, stuck up people. Everyone was always trying to suck up to him since he was the second heir to the Uchiha clan. He also detested whenever someone tried to plot a way to get into his pants. It was disgusting. Like he would ever stoop so low to go for a fangirl and certainly not a fan boy. He didn't swing that way.

"I guess I have someone to go with now!" she proclaimed with a grin.

Sasuke smirked at her. He was looking forward to the festival now as well.

"I need to get back to work, but I'll see you this Friday. Tell your mother thank you for lunch. It was delicious as usual."

She rose from her seat and handed him the empty bento box.

"Sure. I'll pick you up at 7." he replied.

"Sounds good! Let me walk you out to the main hall."

Sasuke nodded and let her lead the way. He couldn't help but notice the way she carried herself with such poise and confidence. Her medic skirt also showed off her ass quite nicely. Sasuke immediately chastised himself for the thought. He tried to remind himself that Sakura was a friend and teammate. No inappropriate thoughts!

Suddenly, they were in the main hall.

"Bye Sasuke-kun!"

As Sakura turned to leave, Sasuke grabbed her wrist.

"By the way, who were those flowers from?" he asked. He let go of her hand, and she turned to face him.

"Don't worry. It was only Ren asking me to go to the Spring ball with him, but I'm going to decline. I have somewhere else I'd rather be," she answered with a coy smile.

"Good," Sasuke said with a smirk. He was glad that Sakura was going to finally reject that royal brat.

"Alright, I really have to go now. I'll see you Friday," the beautiful medic commented as she waved goodbye and strode back to her office.

Sasuke exited the hospital and walked home. He could barely contain his smile. Sakura had chosen him over Ren, and it felt good. Friday evening couldn't come soon enough.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: **

After Sakura finished at work, she made sure to mail Ren a response. He would receive it within the next 24 hours since she delivered it via hawk. Sakura called the Uchiha household and asked Sasuke if she could drop off the note at his house and use one of his summons to deliver it. He was more than happy to oblige her request. He took quite a bit of pleasure in sending his hawk to deliver Sakura's rejection to Ren. In his opinion, that royal lecher was finally getting what he deserved.

While Sakura was relieved to have a substantial excuse not to go to the Spring ball with Ren, she had a new problem. She couldn't stop worrying about whether the Spring festival outing was a date. Then, she began to question what she should wear, how she should act, or if she could even ask Sasuke if they were going on a date.

She was finally getting some alone time with Sasuke in a romantic situation, but she had no clue what to do. She hadn't thought too much about what she would do if she were to go on a date with him (until now) since it seemed unlikely. Even so, she didn't know if this counted as a date. Should she ask Sasuke? He might be offended that she thought that it could be a date, but how could she know? Verbal communication wasn't one of Sasuke's strong points.

Her mind was swimming with questions of what if, why, and how. She sighed and decided to pay her best friend Ino, expert in all things fashion and men, a visit after work on Wednesday. She seriously needed some help.

**X**

It was Wednesday, and work was going well. There weren't any crazy outbreaks or droves of injured nin coming in to see her. She was able to focus on some administrative and management tasks such hiring new people and updating the training programs. These kinds of tasks tended to fall to the wayside during wartime since the hospital was just focused on the logistics of treating as many people as possible. The most important tasks were making sure the hospital was safe, sanitary, and staffed. There wasn't time to do formal trainings or update procedures thoughtfully. However, it was peacetime right now, so Sakura wanted to focus on refining the curriculum for medic-nin, streamlining protocols, and optimizing procedures. All of these improvements would help the hospital be more prepared and effective, but even more so if there was another war.

Sakura was finishing reading through the current training resources for the OBGYN nurses and made notes on what needed to be updated or changed. Childbirth hadn't changed much, but it wasn't always given the attention it deserved. It might have to do with the fact that most medical practices had been created by people who had never experienced childbirth, men of course. Not that Tsunade-sama knew what childbirth was like since she didn't have kids, but she was a little more sympathetic to the pains of childbirth than the average male doctor. Sakura just glad to have the chance to review and update the OBGYN training materials. There were going to be big changes to bedside manner, medicinal options, and post-birth checkups to name a few.

Satisfied with her progress, Sakura locked up her office and went to visit Ino's apartment for some advice. She used the walk to mentally prepare herself for hurricane Ino. She knew that it was likely that Ino would flip her shit once she found out that Sakura was attending the festival with her broody teammate. Ino thought that she could do better or at least snag someone 'who had a personality and wasn't like talking to a wall'. Ino wasn't the biggest fan of Sasuke especially after hearing about the hot springs incident. She thought that Sasuke was trying to take advantage of Sakura's affections towards him in order to satisfy his sexual appetite. He was officially on Ino's hit list after his grave offense towards her best friend. However, Ino was just going to have to suck it up because Sakura was really looking forward to going to the festival with him. Plus, Sasuke swore it was an accident, and Sakura was choosing to trust him.

Sakura reached her friend's apartment and knocked on the door. Ino opened the door and ushered her inside. Sakura sat on the couch while Ino prepared them tea.

"So, forehead, what do you need help with? You were pretty cryptic on the phone," the blond inquired. Sakura had been vague on purpose as she had discovered that delivering bad news over the phone to Ino was never a good idea.

The pinkette leaned back on the couch and sighed.

"Well, um, Sasuke kind of invited me to go to the Spring festival with him," she stated.

A few beats of silence passed until Sakura heard Ino drop a glass cup.

"WHAT? Are you kidding me? That creepy bastard had the nerve to ask you out after he peeped on you?!" Ino looked very angry. Her lips were pulled into a snarl, her chest was heaving up and down, and she had a primal glint in her eyes.

"Calm down for a minute and let me explain. Sasuke said that the whole hot springs thing was a complete accident, and I'd be able to tell if he was lying. He just as bad at it as Naruto. He seemed sincere about, and he even came to the hospital and brought me lunch to talk things out. This is just a way to get things back to normal. It's a harmless, fun outing," Sakura explained.

Ino hmphed and crossed her arms. She wasn't going to say it out loud, but she was impressed that Sasuke apologized of his own volition and apparently seemed sincere to Sakura. Maybe he wasn't a totally ungrateful jerk, but Ino was still worried for her friend. The last thing she wanted was for Sakura to get her hopes up and be let down. Even though she didn't show it, Sakura was pretty sensitive and especially to what those closest to her thought.

"Hmm. I suppose going to the Spring festival with him wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. But if he tries anything, I will use my mind transfer jutsu to make him embarrass himself in front of the entire village! I swear, it's always the quiet ones you have to watch out for," she proclaimed. Ino calmed down and cleaned up the broken glass and poured some more tea.

"I know. I know. He's not going to try anything, and he couldn't even if he wanted to. We'll be in public for heaven's sake. It's just a fun outing," Sakura replied. She didn't expect Ino to drop it so easily, but she wasn't going to question it.

The blond placed two cups of green tea on the coffee table and sat down beside Sakura.

"Just a fun outing huh? Seems like you're pretty excited," Ino said with a smirk before sipping her tea.

Sakura flushed and glared at her. "Don't make it sound like it's something it's not. And of course, I'm excited! Work is pretty slow right now, so I have the time to do something fun."

Ino nodded. Sakura hardly got to relax because she was either working at the hospital or on missions. The girl was a workaholic, and it got especially bad right after the war ended during construction period. The hospital had an overload of patients due to the damage from the fighting. It wasn't just ninja, but many civilians who had gotten caught in the crossfire. The hospital was also extremely understaffed as the medic-corps had suffered severe casualties from the war.

Sakura took it upon herself to get the hospital back up and running and treat as many people as possible, all the while taking missions with Team 7. Her crazy schedule was evident from her frail frame and ever-present bags under the eyes. It was so bad that Sasuke and Naruto confronted Kakashi, the newly appointed hokage, and _persuaded _him to take Sakura off the mission roster until the hospital was well functioning again. Essentially Naruto whined and pleaded while Sasuke tried to scare Kakashi with his patented glare. Kakashi agreed to take Sakura off the mission roster for a bit within two minutes of the troublesome pair bursting into his office because he had better things to do than argue two of his former students. Plus, he also worried about Sakura overworking herself.

Initially, Sakura was pissed because she felt that it was an insult to her abilities. She could run on three hours of sleep, handle missions, and rebuild the hospital thank you very much. Being the head of the hospital and apprentice of the legendary Tsunade, she felt that she needed to live up to near impossible standards. She tried to keep her cool when Kakashi informed her that she was off the mission roster for the next couple months. He framed it as allowing her focus on reconstruction of the hospital. There were other ninja to complete missions, but far fewer medic-nin with Sakura's abilities who could help the hospital. It was obvious that Sasuke and Naruto had something to do with this change because Kakashi couldn't have known she was overworking herself with his overwhelming duties.

After a week of just working at the hospital, Sakura was grateful that her teammates stuck up for her. Sometimes they went easy on her, but they were just trying to watch out for her.

"I think it'll be good for you to get out a bit. Now, I have an excuse to doll you up!" Ino exclaimed. She was pretty excited to dress up Sakura. The girl was gorgeous, but most of the time she was in scrubs or sweatpants.

Sakura laughed at her friend. Ino always loved to play dress up.

"Alright Pig. Just don't over-do it. I have my outfit covered already, but I need help with hair and makeup."

Sakura was going to wear a yukata that her mother gave her a year ago. She hadn't gotten a chance to wear it, and the Spring festival was the perfect occasion to do so.

"Sounds like a plan. I already have my outfit too."

The girls spent the rest of the evening figuring out the logistics for getting ready for the festival. They decided to meet at Sakura's apartment around 4 when she would get home from work. Ino would spend about an hour and a half helping Sakura get ready, and then she'd go to Sai's to get herself and him ready. He hadn't been to a festival before and needed help picking out what to wear. Plus, Sasuke could pick up Sakura without the blond biting his head off.

Ino was absolutely determined to make Sakura to the most beautiful woman at the festival, after herself of course. She wanted every guy, including Sasuke, to grovel at her feet. It would be fun to see him all flustered at the sight of Sakura dressed up. He'd be even more flustered when he realized how many guys he would have to protect Sakura from. Sasuke and Naruto were notoriously well known for fending off the pinkette's potential suitors. Naruto was the worst since he was so loud about it, but Hinata would be keeping him occupied. Sasuke on the other hand would activate his sharingan and scowl. It worked on most of the fanboys, expect for the really creepy cocky ones. With those guys, Sasuke would pull out his chidori and Naruto's would activate his kurama chakra. So far, no one had been willing to pursue Sakura after that.

**X**

It was the big day. It was finally Friday. Sakura had been as cool as a cucumber the past two days, but now that it was 4:00 she was a nervous wreck. Ino would arrive any minute, get her ready, and then Sasuke would pick her up at 6 pm. Meaning, she would have to sit by herself for 30 minutes trying to keep her cool.

The loud knock on the door drew her out of her thoughts. She scurried to the door and let her friend inside. Ino came prepared. She had two large bags each with hair and makeup accessories.

"I hope you're ready forehead because I came prepared!" the blond warned with a mischievous smile.

"I am too!" Saukra wore a button up flannel and her hair down as Ino had instructed her to. With a button up, she wouldn't mess up her hair when she took it off and changed into her outfit.

The girls set up shop in Sakura's room. Sakura sat at her vanity and watched Ino layout all of her tools on the desk. There were various hairsprays, mousse, a curler, and more makeup brushes than she could count.

"Ok forehead turn around. I want this to be a surprise!"

"Fine. I'll turn around, but you better not do anything ridiculous." Sakura appeased her friend and turned her chair around to face her bed instead of the mirror.

"Pshhh. Have a little faith. I'm going to do a great job. I want that emotionless teammate of yours to be dazzled." she countered.

Sakura rolled her and let Ino start with her hair. She curled it and put in some sort of updo with a pair of chopsticks. Next was makeup, and Sakura had no clue what Ino was doing. Ino told her to keep her eyes closed for most of the time since she was doing some eye makeup and touch ups around the eyes. Sakura's face didn't feel caked which was a good sign. She hardly ever wore anything more than lipstick or lip gloss.

About an hour had passed and Sakura was getting antsy. Ino could tell that her friend was nervous. She had tried to chat with her, but Sakura got even more anxious. Ino hadn't said anything because Sakura might faint, but she was pretty sure that the Spring festival outing was a date. It made sense that Sakura was this nervous. She had been pining over Sasuke for almost a decade, and she was finally going to get a shot with him. Ino would get all of the dirty details at a later date when her friend didn't look like she might pass out from nerves.

"Don't worry Sakura. I'm almost done, and you're going to wow every guy that sees you," Ino remarked as she applied some blush to Sakura's cheeks.

"This is the last thing, and then we can get you into your yukata."

Ino put lipstick on Sakura's lips and touched it up. Sakura tried to turn around, but Ino grabbed her shoulders.

"Let's wait until you have your outfit on. Then you'll get the full effect."

Sakura grumbled but complied. She got up without facing the mirror and took off her clothes. Ino helped her put on her outfit, so her hair and makeup would stay intact.

"You're officially ready. Now, go look in the mirror," Ino ordered with a confident grin.

Sakura turned around and faced the mirror. She couldn't believe what she saw when she looked at her reflection. Her light pink yukata had dark pink cherry blossoms which perfectly matched her lipstick while her green obi was complemented by the jade chopsticks in her hair. Her hair was in a simple but elegant updo that showed of her creamy white neck. Her makeup was kept simple, so it enhanced her natural features. She had a little bit of blush, a subtle black cat eye, and some mascara.

"Ino! Thank you so much! You did an amazing job," Sakura said as she turned to face her friend.

"It was nothing. I just enhanced your natural beauty, "Ino replied with a smile. She was very satisfied with her work. Sakura was a knockout, and Sasuke wasn't going to be able to resist her.

"Thanks, now let's get your stuff packed up, so you can go to Sai's place," Sakura commented.

They packed up Ino's mobile salon and said their goodbyes. Sakura found herself alone with 30 minutes to kill before Sasuke picked her up. She was desperately trying to keep from thinking about her impending outing by tidying up her apartment, but her mind was still in full on freak out mode. She was refusing to call it a date because she had no clue if it was. She tried to think about what food she'd like to eat or what games she should play, but then she wondered if she should offer to pay for herself since she didn't know it was a date. After ten minutes of cleaning up, she gave up and turned on the TV.

She found an old news special featuring Kakashi. A few months ago, the village new station somehow convinced Kakashi to interview for a program on the Fourth Shinobi War. It gave background on the root causes of the war and information on specific battles. Kakashi wasn't one for attention, so the news station must have offered him something Ich Icha related in order to participate. Engrossed in the special, Sakura almost didn't hear the rap at the door.

She turned off the TV, grabbed her purse, and scurried to the door. She gulped and opened it to reveal a formally dressed and very handsome Sasuke. He wore plain navy haori with a black sash. His muscular figure was obvious in his broad chest and forearms. Coupled with his typical sexy behead look, Sakura was swooning. It was so typical of Sasuke to wear something simple that made him look amazing.

"Hey Sasuke-kun," Sakura greeted casually.

"Hey." Sasuke could barely get a greeting out. He was absolutely dumbstruck. Sakura looked like the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Her pale pink yukata paired perfectly with her fair skin and hinted at a slender yet curvy figure underneath. Her face had a light dusting of makeup which highlighted her most striking features: plush pink lips, high cheekbones, and dazzling emerald eyes. Sasuke drank in her form while he struggled to hide his awe.

He cleared his throat as if to clear away his less than innocent thoughts about his teammate.

"Ready?"

Sakura nodded and smiled. The pair walked to the festival which was located in the center of town right in front of Hokage tower. Sakura tried to keep conversation light by talking about work and asking about Sasuke's family. Suddenly, he had reverted to his teenage mannerisms and only offered short one sentence answers. Thankfully it was a short walk, and they arrived at the festival.

It was such a lively scene. There were tons of people smiling chatting while enjoying festival food. There were a plethora of game stands and food carts, and each have small crowds of people. There were blooming cherry blossom trees adorned with lantern lights encased the square.

"Sasuke-kun I haven't had yet, so would you mind if we got something to eat?"

"No," he replied with his arms crossed.

They went to a nearby stand where Sakura ordered some okonomiyaki and Sasuke ordered iyaki. Sakura was about to pay, but Sasuke handed the vendor some cash before she could. They took their food and ate at one on the picnic tables.

"Thank you for paying for me Sasuke-kun, but you really didn't need to," Sakura supplied as she ate her food.

"I invited you, so it's only fair that I pay," he countered. It sounded like an obligation more than something he wanted to do. Sakura was already nervous, but now she was upset. The atmosphere was cheerful and fun, but she didn't feel like she was a part of it. Sasuke was being especially quiet, and it made her uneasy. It felt like he'd rather be anywhere but with her. After a few minutes of eating in silence, Sakura decided to voice her concerns. She rarely got to go on outings like this, so she wanted to enjoy. A hot, but moody Sasuke wasn't going to ruin it for her.

"Sasuke-kun, you've been awfully quiet. Is something wrong?" she asked carefully.

"No. I'm fine," he said and looked back down at his food.

Sakura was confused because Sasuke didn't seem to want to be here even though he was the one who suggested the outing in the first place. She decided to probe more.

"Do you want to be here with me? If you don't, then you can leave. I can always find Naruto or Ino and tag along with them," she suggested.

Sasuke looked up at her a scowled.

"I invited you, so I want to be here," he said plainly. He was offended that she would suggest that since he had gone through all of this trouble to attend with him. Of course, he wanted to be with her.

Sakura mistook his response for anger and shook her head. She was feeling suffocated by his poor cold attitude and wasn't enjoying her evening.

"You obviously don't want to be here with me, so forget it," she stated as she rose from her seat and dashed away to the nearby field before Sasuke could say anything. He got up and went after her. He was angry now because she was sending her mixed signals. He was here with her, so why wasn't that enough?

Sasuke located her moments later. She sat under a tree hugging her legs to her chest with her head down. Sasuke instantly felt guilty when he saw her upset. He cursed under his breath and approached her. He seemed to have a talent for hurting Sakura.

"Sakura, what's wrong?" he asked. He sat down next to her and sighed.

His teammate lifted her head and looked at him. She tried to glare at him, but she couldn't get rid of her hurt expression. She looked like a sad kitten.

"You're so confusing. You invite me to the festival and seem happy about it. Then, you pick me up and hardly say a word to me much less make eye contact with me. I tried to see what was wrong, and you won't tell me. I really wanted to enjoy this evening, but I can't read your mind. I don't know how to get you to talk to me or to tell me if I did something wrong. And I'm already nervous because I don't know if this is a date!" Sakura stopped rambling and clasped her hands over her mouth. She didn't mean to say the last part, and now she felt like she had completely ruined her chances of enjoying the festival.

"Sakura...I." He tried to find the words to apologize, but it hadn't crossed his mind that Sakura didn't think that this was a date or that he was putting her off.

"Look at me." He grabbed her chin with his hand, so he could look at her. His dark eyes peered into her green ones. Sakura's mind was going a million-miles-a-minute. What was he doing? Why was he staring?

"You're to blame because you're so damn beautiful, and I can't stop looking at you," he confessed with a small smirk.

"Wh-what?" she stuttered as she blushed profusely.

Sasuke let go of her chin and sighed.

"Ever since our mission, I've been feeling things that I shouldn't about you," he replied vaguely.

"What types of feelings?" she probed. She was trying not to have any expectations because she didn't want her feelings to be hurt.

"Ugh, well I've been noticing how...attractive you are. I shouldn't because you're my teammate and one of my closest friends, and the guilt has been eating me up. You're like a sister to me Sakura, and I'm sorry for putting you off. I've just been trying not to look at you, so I don't see how beautiful you are. It's distracting." Sasuke finished his explanation with a frustrated sigh. He felt like he owed her some sort of explanation since he had been acting weird towards her lately. Now he felt like a creep since he basically just told her that she was hot, and it was distracting.

Sakura had to make quite an effort to keep her jaw from hitting the ground. She couldn't believe that Sasuke found her attractive! For some reason, he felt bad about it. She found him attractive and didn't feel guilty about it. Sasuke always struggled with expressing and managing emotions, so his guilt wasn't that far-fetched.

In an attempt to soothe him, Sakura laid her hand on his hand.

"Sasuke-kun, I'm flattered. You shouldn't feel guilty about finding me attractive. We're close friends, but it's not like we're actually related."

She looked into Sasuke's onyx eyes. Her hand squeezed his as she smiled gently at him.

"So... you're not upset?" he asked.

Sakura giggled and blushed. "Of course not! Sasuke-kun, you have to know that I've liked you for the longest time as more than a friend," she revealed.

Sasuke nearly gasped. He had been worried the past week for nothing. He thought that Sakura had gotten her school girl crush on him years ago. Apparently and conveniently for him, she still seemed to like him.

"I didn't want to make you uncomfortable. We're close friends, and I didn't want to do anything to jeopardize our friendship," he explained.

Sakura found his regard for her to be sweet, but she was done waiting. She had loved this boy now man for over a decade. It was time for some momentum.

"I think that even if we tried to date, and it didn't work out that we'd be alright. We're mature adults, and we could work it out," she offered thoughtfully. It was true. Sakura couldn't stand to not have Sasuke in her life and vice versa. They had been integral parts of each other's lives for almost ten years. A failed romantic relationship shouldn't curb their strong friendship.

"Are you saying that you want to date me?" the raven haired nin asked. His heart felt like it would beat out of his chest. He desperately wanted her to say yes. She was the only woman he had romantic feelings for, and he'd be damned if he didn't find out if they could together.

"Yes," she said quietly as she looked down. She seemed to be just as nervous as he.

"Then this is a date," he said in a matter of fact way.

"If this is a date, we should probably get back to the festival. I was promised a fun outing!" Sakura was glad that things were back on track with Sasuke, and they had managed to resolve the tension between them. However, she really did want to play some of the festival games and say hello to their friends.

"Let's get going," Sasuke replied as he got up and helped Sakura up as well. They ventured back to the festival and said hello to their friends in passing. Naruto looked like he wanted to comment on that they were there together, but smartly kept his mouth shut since Hinata elbowed him. Much to Sasuke's dismay, Sakura had to say hello to Ino. The girls gushed over the beautiful atmosphere, delicious food, and fashionable clothes. Luckily, for Sasuke, Ino only glared at him once.

The pair played a few card games, got dango, and bobbed for apples. Okay, it was Sasuke who bobbed for apples because Sakura didn't want to mess up her hair and makeup. Sasuke scoffed at first, but he didn't really mind. He thought she looked lovely.

After some more food and games, the couple walked around and reveled in peace and happiness of the scene around them. That was until Sasuke's parents them. Sasuke grabbed Sakura's arm in order to try to flee, Sakura wouldn't allow it.

"Sasuke-kun, it's your parents. We should at least say hello," she admonished.

"But Kaa-san has a camera," he argued. Unfortunately, the stern look on Sakura's visage left no room for further argument. He sighed and ran a hand through his disheveled inky locks.

The Uchiha matriarch waved and padded over with her stoic husband trailing close behind.

"Sasuke-chan, Sakura-chan. It's so nice to see you. You make such a handsome couple! May I take a photo with my new camera?" Mikoto had a glint in her eyes that scared Sasuke. It meant that he would be bombarded with questions about his outing with Sakura once he got home. How annoying.

"Sure. Right Sasuke-kun?" Sakura replied.

"Aa."

Mikoto arranged the pair and prepared to take the photo. "Smile!"

_Snap _

Mikoto inspected the photo and nodded in approval.

"How sweet! I'll have to print it and send it to you Sakura-chan," the Uchiha matriarch remarked.

"I'm looking forward to it. I don't have many photos of myself dressed up," the pinkette replied.

Before Mikoto could say do anything more embarrassing Sasuke's father intervened.

"Mikoto, the shop you wanted to visit is closing soon, so we best be on out good. We'll leave you in peace," Fugaku stated with his arms crossed.

"You're right dear! Thank you for reminding me."

Sasuke's parents turned around to leave.

"Have fun you two!" Mikoto added with a wink.

Kami help him. His mother was out to embarrass him. He turned to face Sakura and apologized for his mom's forwardness.

"It's fine Sasuke-kun! I'm actually glad that she took a picture of us. She was just trying to be nice," Sakura defended.

"If you say so. Anyways, is there anywhere else you want to check out before I walk you home?"

"Hmmm," Sakura paused to think. She was looking up and put her index finger on her chin. It was a habit of hers that Sasuke found very cute.

"Oh! I want to stop at the dango booth and pick some up for my parents," she suddenly remembered.

They went to the booth where Sakura purchased two orders of dango for her parents and headed back to Sakura's apartment.

"Thanks for walking me home Sasuke-kun. I had a really great time at the festival with you," Sakura expressed. She really did have a great time with him. He bought her food, participated in the games she wanted to play, and even put up with some picture taking.

"Me too Sakura."

The couple arrived a Sakura's apartment, and Sasuke was suddenly very anxious. He didn't know how to express to her that he wanted to take her on another date. Would she think it looked desperate if he said something right away?

Sakura, unaware of Sasuke's inner turmoil, got her keys out and unlocked her door.

"I guess this is goodnight then," she said quietly.

With new found courage Sasuke replied, "I'd like to see you again,"

Sakura smiled gently as a pretty blush appeared on her cheeks.

"My lunch break is 12-1, and I eat in the courtyard," she informed.

Sasuke nodded and made a mental note to add that to his calendar when he got home.

"Goodnight Sasuke-kun!"

The pink haired nin attempted to enter her home, but a hand grabbed her wrist.

"You're not leaving me without a goodnight kiss are you?" Sasuke asked with a devilish smirk.

"I suppose not," Sakura said as she put her arms around him.

Sasuke put one arm on her waist and cupped her cheek as he admired her delicate features. She really was the most alluring woman he had ever seen. Soft suppled curves, a perfect complexion, eyes he could get lost in, and the most beautiful smile. He pulled her forward and closed the distance between their bodies. His lips pressed gently against hers. He almost gasped at the sensation. Her lips were as soft as he had imagined. Everything about this moment felt right. He couldn't believe that he thought that it would be wrong to be with Sakura. Her body molded into his as if it were made just for that purpose.

Sakura was on cloud nine. She was kissing the man that she had loved for as long as she could love. His strong hands held her closer to him as he deepened the kiss. She opened her lips, his tongue slipped in easily and founded hers. The kissing became extremely passionate as Sakura moved to grip Sasuke's hair and Sasuke's arm pulled her in closer.

After the two nin had run out of air, they pulled away with heavy panting. Both stared at one another as they breathed.

"Um, wow… I wasn't expecting that," Sakura said breathlessly.

"A pleasant surprise?" Sasuke responded with a half-smile.

"Yes," she remarked with a full on grin.

"Ok I really do need to go to bed. I have work in the morning."

She pecked his cheek and entered her apartment. Sasuke turned and headed home. He snuck inside because there was no way he could face his mother's interrogating. He just wanted to go to sleep and enjoy the state of pure bliss he was in and hoped to experience later as well.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: **

Sasuke woke up feeling like he was the king of the world. Yesterday, he not only kissed but made out with Sakura. Plus, she had essentially invited him to have lunch with her by giving him her lunch break time and location. She had today off, so he wouldn't have lunch with her today. His plan was to train today. He couldn't help but smirk at his good fortune. Maybe his mother was right to pressure him into inviting her to the festival. Of course, he wasn't going to tell her that. She deserved it for embarrassing him and taking that stupid photo, but it made Sakura happy, so he allowed it.

The handsome man showered and got ready for the day. He entered the kitchen to find his mother preparing him breakfast. She was quietly humming as she expertly flipped the omelet. It looked and smelled like she was making Sasuke's favorite breakfast - a tomato omelet. Sasuke sat down at the table where his father was already seated and reading the morning newspaper and sipping his tea.

"Good morning Tou-san," he greeted.

Fugaku replied, "Good morning," as he continued reading his paper. Sasuke helped himself to the pot of green tea in the center of the dining table and poured himself some. The clean refreshing smell relaxed him as he prepared himself to face his mother's barrage of questions. She hadn't said a word to him since he entered the kitchen, so she likely had something on her mind.

Mikoto brought over a platter of omelets and three plates. Once everyone was served, they said 'Itadakimasu' and ate in silence. Sasuke ate his breakfast and avoided eye contact with his mother in order to prolong the inevitable uncomfortable conversation he would have to have with her. She was going to embarrass him in front of his father and try to meddle in some way.

"So, Sasuke dear. How was your date with Sakura-chan last night?" she asked innocently.

Sasuke's ears turned red, and he coughed on the tea he was sipping. So much for postponing.

"Good."

Mikoto sighed as if she was disappointed. She obviously was hoping for some more details. Truth be told, she had been waiting years for Sasuke to make a move on Sakura. It was just her luck that once they got the ball rolling, Sasuke refused to give any of the goo details like if they danced or how he complimented her outfit.

"Mikoto. Thank you for breakfast. I'm going to work now," Fugaku stated as he rose and successfully escaped the uncomfortable silence. He wasn't about to get in the way of Mikoto's 'intel gathering' as she called it. Che. Women and gossip.

"Alright darling. Don't forget your lunch. Have a good day!"

She waved to her husband and turned back to face her youngest son.

Well fuck. His father had left him in the lion's den. Now that he was gone, his mother would say whatever was on her mind.

"How was the date good?" she continued.

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. It was so weird to talk about this type of stuff, let alone to his mother. Private matters were private, but apparently not to his mother.

"We had a good time. We saw friends, ate some food, and played some games," he replied, hoping that his mother's curiosity would be sated.

Mikoto covered her mouth and giggled.

"I can't believe how grown up you are! On your first date and with Sakura-chan no less. This is so unexpected," she teased.

Sasuke crossed his arms and looked away as his cheeks reddened.

"Kaa-san. I'm 20 years old. I am not a child anymore, and you're the one who _suggested_ that I ask her out," he added. He was an adult; it wasn't that big of a deal that he was dating. It was normal for people around his age. Sure, it was kind of significant that he went on a date with Sakura. Additionally,, she was acting like it was a huge surprise even though she was the one who pressured him into asking Sakura out in the first place.

"You'll always be my baby, and it was just surprising to run into you two. Anyways, is there going to be some more dates? When are you going to ask her to be your girlfriend? Oh, and when can we have her over for dinner?" Mikoto's list of questions had Sasuke's head spinning. The woman was insane! Couldn't he just eat in peace?

"I have a standing lunch date with her whenever she's on shift at the hospital. She can come over for dinner when she's available. As for the girlfriend part, I'm not sure of the exact date, but I'll ask her when it feels right."

Sasuke uncrossed his arms and sighed.

"Well, just make sure that you don't wait too long. Women like her are hard to find, so you better snatch her up while you can!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes this time. He knew that Sakura was a one of a kind woman, so he didn't intend to drag it out to long before labelling their relationship.

"Sorry for all of this discussion, but I can't help it. I'm so excited, and I want you to be happy and have someone to spend your life with," Mikoto added explained with a gentle smile.

Sasuke smirked. He couldn't be annoyed with his mother for too long. She was a little nosy, but she just wanted the best for him.

"I know but have a little faith in me. I want this to work out as well," he replied.

Mikoto laughed at his response and began to clear the table. Sasuke got up and brought his dishes to the sink and headed for the door.

"Before you go dear. I want you to let you know that if you have any questions or need for protection, you can ask me," she stated nonchalantly.

Sasuke's eyes almost popped out of his head. He and Sakura were nowhere close to doing _that._ They had been on one date. Besides, if the need arose, he wouldn't ever talk to his mom about it. He would deny having sex to his mother even once he got married. He wouldn't be able to look at her the same if she knew that he was sexually active.

"Kaa-san! You don't need to worry. We aren't doing anything like that!" he remarked with embarrassment.

Mikoto wiped her hands on her apron and smiled.

"I assumed so, but it's important to be prepared. You don't want children before your married," she noted and continued washing dishes.

"Um, sure. I'm leaving to meet Naruto for some training. I'll be home for dinner."

Sasuke dashed out of the Uchiha compound to training ground 8. His mom just had to bring up something like sex. He appreciated her caring about him, but she didn't need to care that much. He had taken sex ed and knew about safe sex. Not to mention, Sakura was a medic-nin. She had extensive knowledge of sexual health, prevention, etc. They were definitely covered. He was also not planning to have sex until he was married. It was a Uchiha rule. It was loosely followed by some, *cough* Shisui *cough*, but it was still a rule. Sasuke also had no desire to be intimate with someone he wasn't going to marry. His mother worried too much.

He arrived at the training ground a bit early and didn't see any blond. For now, he would use his quiet time to reminisce on his night with Sakura. Thinking of how much he was looking forward to more of her kisses and warm smiles, a ghost of a smile appeared on his face.

**X**

Naruto was having a rough start to his morning. Immediately after he got out the shower this morning, one of Tsunade's slugs had summoned him to Hokage tower with no further details than to be there in 15 minutes.

He groaned and got dressed in a hurry. He left and snagged a cup on instant ramen on his way out. He cursed the Godaime for summoning him this early. He was planning to take his time eating breakfast and read some scrolls on advanced wind jutsu before meeting Sasuke to train.

He sped to Hokage tower, went up the stairs, and through the hallway. He knocked on the door and was told to enter.

Tsunade had her hands interlaced under her chin and a wicked grin on her face.

"Good morning Naruto. I wanted to check in and see how your assignment is going. Are Sasuke and Sakura boyfriend and girlfriend yet?"

Naruto laughed awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. This is really what she dragged him out of the house for this morning. Tsuande really took her bets seriously.

"They're dating, so they're not boyfriend and girlfriend yet. It'll happen any day!" Naruto was optimistic and hoped he would be correct. He only had 10 days before the bet was over. Maybe he could push Sasuke a little bit during training today. Sasuke wasn't forthcoming, so Naruto would have to be creative to get anything out of the stoic nin.

"You better be right since you don't have much time left! However, you picking up trash outside or doing filing for me sounds pretty appealing," the busty blond commented with a smirk.

"I got it! Don't think I'm giving up though. I will become a jonin at the end of the month," he replied confidently. The zealous blond put his hands on his hips and stared directly into Tsunade's amber eyes as if he was challenging her.

"Hmph. We'll see about that. You're dismissed!" She flicked her wrist as if shooing him away.

The hyperactive nin didn't need to be told twice and skedaddled away to eat his breakfast. He found the communal kitchen on the chunin floor of the tower and prepared his instant ramen. It was just what he needed before trying to push Sasuke into telling him about his relationship status with Sakura. Speaking of Sasuke, he was supposed to meet him to train in ten minutes!

Naruto scarfed down the rest of his ramen which burned his tongue a bit, but he refused to let any of his precious ramen go to waste. After disposing of the now empty ramen container, the blond left the tower and sprinted to the training ground. If there was anything that put Sasuke in a bad mood, it was tardiness. Naruto needed Sasuke to be in the best mood possible because it would surely sour once he asked about his date with Sakura.

The training ground was in sight, but the blond checked his watch and saw that he was already two minutes late. This was all Tsunade's fault! She was clearly trying to sabotage his plan. It didn't cross Naruto's mind that she didn't keep tabs on his schedule. The Hokage had more pressing matters to worry about that Naruto's social life.

Due to his breakneck speed, he landed into the tree next to Sasuke with a loud crash. He was officially five minutes late. Crap.

The raven haired nin was leaning against the tree with his arms crossed and one foot stretched out. Naruto could have sworn that he had seen Sasuke smiling before he landed in the tree. Maybe it was his imagination. He got up, brushed the tree branches and dirt off his pants, and approached his friend.

"Sorry I'm late! Granny Tsuande summoned me this morning out of the blue," Naruto said with a sheepish smile.

Sasuke inwardly sighed. He had to stop fantasizing about Sakura and train with his idiot of a best friend. He was so distracted that he didn't even ask why Naruto was summoned by Tsuande.

"Whatever. It's not like we're in a rush today," the Uchiha commented. He moved from the tree to the center of the field.

Naruto's jaw dropped! What the hell was up with Sasuke? Whenever Naruto was even a minute late to their training sessions he got all pissy. This cool reaction was unnerving and unusual. Now, Naruto was kind of annoyed. He burnt his tongue finishing his ramen in a hurry and made a fool of himself by crash landing into a tree all for Sasuke to not care that he was late.

Muttering to himself about how difficult his best friend was, he walked to the center of the field. Both men got into position and readied for battle.

"Let's do a little taijutsu, so no sharingan or ninjutsu," Naruto instructed. It was common for the boys to train without any jutsu or dojutsu because it was a bad habit to rely on their special abilities. In the event that they had to preserve their chakra or were out of chakra, they were left with taijutsu as their only method of attack or defense.

"Fine, but no sage mode."

After Sasuke's response, the fight commenced. Naruto charged forward and aimed for his side with a side kick. Jumping back, Sasuke evaded the kick and ran back towards him. A series of trading kicks, punches, and blocks went on for a few hours leaving both nin exhausted and ready for a lunch break.

Panting and gasping for air, Naruto stood slightly slumped over.

"How about a lunch break?" he suggested. An equally spent Sasuke nodded.

"To Ichiraku!" the blond exclaimed with his finger up in the air. Sasuke smirked and shook his head. Predictable as always. Ichiraku was the only place Naruto would choose to eat at given a choice. The pair took a leisurely walk to the ramen shop.

"So teme, looks like you have a fun time at the Spring festival with Sakura-chan," Naruto noted with a cheeky grin. Naruto was betting on Sasuke being too tired and hungry to put up too much of a fight in supplying some information. If he remained difficult, plan B was lunch with Sakura. His female teammate would be flustered at his questions, but she could be convinced to reveal the juicy details with some coaxing and puppy dog eyes. Naruto and Sakura were generally pretty open with each other about personal matters, but Sakura had a tendency to get embarrassed when it came to the other sex. Anytime she told Naruto of a man pursuing her or showing interest, she would constantly blush. Her innocence was quite endearing.

"It was fine." Sasuke was shoved his hands in his pockets and looked down. Naruto was one of the last people he wanted to tell about his date with Sakura because half of the village might know about the date by the end of today. The village chatterbox had a bad habit of just saying whatever popped into his head, regardless of if he had been told not to say anything about a particular matter.

"Are you boyfriend and girlfriend now?" the nosy nin inquired. Wide eyed and slightly embarrassed, Sasuke struggled to respond.

"It was only one date. I don't think so." Sasuke was annoyed at Naruto prying into his private life. He was always butting in even it was for his own good like when Naruto defended Sasuke's desire to stay on Team 7 rather than be placed on another team with other Uchihas.

"Ha! So, it was a date. Did you kiss?" Naruto wiggles his eyebrows suggestively and giggled. The other nin's face flushed due to anger and embarrassment.

"Enough. We're nearly at the restaurant," he snapped. He stepped forward and removed the curtain to enter the ramen bar leaving a frustrated Naruto outside.

Damn. It was proving to be more difficult than predicted to get Sasuke and Sakura to get together _officially._ Sasuke was so stubborn, so it could take a while for him to define the relationship. A little push in the right direction couldn't hurt.

With a new plot forming in his head, Naruto sat down next to Sasuke at the counter and ordered his food. He ate his meal merrily without any further discussion about Sakura, much to Sasuke's fortune.

After finishing lunch and paying, the two friends returned to the training ground and worked on some ninjutsu. Shortly after they came back to the village from their respective training trips, Kakashi observed that their wind and fire ninjutsu could be combined to create fearsome attacks. The awakening of Sasuke's mangekyo sharingan and Naruto's increasing chakra reserves had significantly amplified their combination attacks.

It was nearly evening when they finished training. Sasuke excused himself, so he could clean up before dinner. If he was late for dinner, his mother would have his head.

"Bye teme! Tell your parents I say hi!" The blond waved enthusiastically as Sasuke turned and waved before he disappeared in a blur.

Finally, Naruto could get to the next part of his plan. He had a brilliant idea up his sleeve to get Sasuke to ask Sakura to be his girlfriend before the ten days were up. He rubbed his hands together and cackled in unholy glee.

It was time to pay a visit to the most mischievous Uchiha.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

The blond hyperactive nin was en route to the popular jonin bar called 'The Wayward Kunai'. He would definitely find the person he was looking for there. This particular individual was notorious for hanging around there after missions in an effort to pick up women. He was resorting to implicating this person in his plot because Naruto was desperate. There were only ten days left before the bet was over, and Sasuke was being as slow as a slug. Left to his own devices, Sasuke might take a year to make Sakura his girlfriend, and Naruto didn't have time for that. He needed Sasuke to make things official now! He wanted to be a jonin so bad because he couldn't be Hokage without jonin status. It also wouldn't hurt to have his two best friends together.

Signing to himself, he approached the bar. It looked pretty busy for a Monday night. It was lit up inside, and he could hear the patrons' buzzing chatter. He flung open the wooden door and entered. Immediately, he spotted the person in question at bar flirting with a voluptuous brunette. It was almost pathetic how Naruto knew exactly where to find him and what he would be doing.

He walked up to the counter and sat next to the man. It took a moment for him to acknowledge Naruto's presence since he was quite distracted by the women's low cut top.

"Hey Naruto! I haven't seen you around here in awhile!" The man turned to face Naruto and gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"Well, training to be Hokage and dating Hinata-chan keep me pretty busy," the blond replied with a smile as he gestured the bartender over. He ordered a beer while Shisui recounted his latest mission in which he, Itachi, and some Anbu were responsible for the security at the daimyo's Spring Ball. He was sad to leave because the palace had 'so many babes'.

"Yeah, but Itachi was pretty relieved to go back home. He didn't appreciate women throwing themselves at him. He's got Izumi, and you know how he is. Some of the men in my clan are just so uptight when it comes to women!"

Naruto nodded and decided that now would be a good time to bring up his problem.

"Speaking of uptight Uchiha men, I'm having a problem with Sasuke," he noted with seriousness.

Interest thoroughly piqued, Shisui suggested that they move to a booth for a more private setting. They sat in a booth in the back of the restaurant to ensure that no one else would hear their sensitive information exchange.

"So what's going on with my baby cousin?" the Uchiha asked with a smirk.

Naruto paused and looked around to check again that no one was around. The last thing he wanted was Sasuke shoving a chidori up his ass for gossiping about his love life.

"Before I tell you anything, you have to promise not to repeat anything I tell you here!"

Shisui laughed and crossed his arms. He was extremely interested in what the situation was since Naruto seemed insistent on secrecy.

"I gotcha. What happens at 'The Wayward Kunai' stays at 'The Wayward Kunai'." he replied with a wink.

Taking a deep breath, Naruto explained the whole situation with Sasuke and Sakura which included Sasuke's jealousy of Ren, the hot springs incident, the fight, the makeup, and most importantly the Spring festival date. He made sure to leave out the whole bet and how he was the one responsible for the hot springs incident since those incidents wasn't _really _relevant to the situation at hand.

"When we were training today, I asked him if he and Sakura were together, and he was all like 'I don't think so. It was just one date'. He's in no hurry to make Sakura-chan his girlfriend. He got all uncomfortable and quiet about the subject, so I dropped it. He needs to define the relationship with Sakura soon or she's going to get impatient and get snatched up by someone else. With how moody teme is, Sakura-chan is his only chance at marriage and kids. See the problem here?" Naruto nearly fainted because he was so out of breath from giving Shisui the scoop. Gosh, why did things have to be so complicated with his teammates.

Shisui took a moment to digest over Naruto's information. His little cousin had a shot with a girl, a very attractive one, and he seemed likely to blow it.

"Let me get this straight. Sasuke walked in on her naked, apologized to her, and then got her to go out with him. The date went well, but he's not putting any labels on the relationship which could be a problem since Sakura is the kind of girl looking for commitment. If he waits too long, she'll be unhappy and leave him. Then, Sasuke will be unhappy and turn back into his preteen angsty self and be alone for the rest of his life."

Naruto nodded his head vigorously. His friend seemed to get the picture.

"And let me guess, you need my help?" Shisui deduced.

"Yeah, and I need you to be quiet about it. It may involve Sasuke getting mad with you, but when is he not mad at someone."

Shisui sighed and decided to help his little cousin out. For years, it had been obvious that Sasuke had a crush on Sakura. She was the only woman , aside from female relatives, that he got along with. His aunt had expressed how Sakura was her only hope for Sasuke to produce children and move out. Mikoto loved her sons, but she was ready to be an empty nester. Providing shelter, food, and care for three Uchiha men was a lot of work. It would be a great help to his clan if Sasuke got together with Sakura, and he got to annoy Sasuke by intervening. It seemed like a pretty good deal to him.

"I'll do it. What's the plan?" he inquired.

With a mischievous glint, Naruto revealed his master plan.

"You need to talk to Sasuke and pretend that you're interested in taking out Sakura on a date. Sasuke will get jealous and make Sakura his girlfriend, so no one else thinks she's available."

Shisui listened thoughtfully to Naruto's instructions and nodded in agreement.

"What if he doesn't ask her out and just gets mad at me?" he asked.

"Turn up the heat and ask why he's getting upset or why you can't go out with her," the blond replied simply.

"Oh and don't do it for a couple days or he might get suspicious that we're meddling," he added.

"Works for me! I'll call you and let you know how it goes." Shisui waved goodbye to Naruto and headed back to the bar, no doubt to continue chatting up his previous acquaintance. Shisui was so flirtatious and boisterous, unlike any other of the other Uchiha men he knew. Sometimes, it baffled him that Shisui was an Uchiha. With that thought, Naruto left the bar and returned home to shower and get a good night's sleep. He was confident that his plan would succeed, and he would finally become a jonin. His plan was foolproof, so nothing could go wrong.

**X **

The next day, Sakura found herself counting down the minutes until her lunch break. She was back on shift at the hospital, so Sasuke would be having lunch with her today. He insisted on bringing her lunch because otherwise she would only bring a protein bar as her meal. Her shift started pretty early in the morning, so she tried to sleep in as much as possible which meant she didn't have much time to pack a lunch. Some would think Sasuke was being pushy, but Sakura knew he was trying to show her how much he cared for her.

There were fifteen minutes until he would arrive. The time passed slowly as Sakura occupied herself with scanning through resumes for open positions in the trauma department. The unit had open positions for a chief surgeon and three nurses. There were many applicants for the nurse positions as the most recent nurse training program had finished two weeks prior. While it was a pain to sift through so many applications, Sakura had a great pool of candidates to choose from. Working in the trauma unit required a level head, fast thinking, and a high caliber of professionalism due to the nature of the unit. Sakura knew better than anyone that working in the trauma department was stressful, tiring, and unpredictable. Only the best of the best could work in that unit.

After picking candidates to interview for all four positions, she heard a knock on the door. It was Sasuke. She smiled to herself and opened the door.

"Ready?" he asked as he held up two bento boxes with a smirk.

Sakura nodded and followed Sasuke to the courtyard. They ate lunch with light conversation. Currently, Sasuke was giving details on Itachi's upcoming wedding which was next weekend. His mother had been in a constant mode of stress this because the preferred caterer had cancelled, and there were still other things to take care of like decorations.

"Have you had to help with any of the wedding planning?" Sakura inquired.

"No, but I've had to put up with three appointments with the tailor to get my outfit altered," Sasuke replied with a laugh.

Sakura giggled. It was unusual to go to the tailor so many times for one outfit because the outfit was generally tailored after one appointment.

"Why did you have to go so many times for one outfit?"

"Guess," the raven-haired nin stated as he crossed him arms.

"Your mother kept changing her mind as to how she wanted to Uchiha emblem displayed."

Sasuke nodded and sighed. It was the same song and dance with his mother. When he had his formal ceremony for joining the police force, she had fretted over his outfit in a similar fashion which resulted in Sasuke going to the tailor more times than he would have preferred to do so. Mikoto wanted everything down to the last stitch to be perfect. Sasuke found her perfectionism and attention to detail to be quite annoying.

"It's apparent where you get your perfectionism from Sasuke-kun," Sakura commented.

Sasuke scowled at her. He was not a perfectionist. He just liked things to be done correctly and efficiently. Sure, he was a little particular about how his weapons were cleaned and arranged, but he was _definitely not_ uptight about it.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He ignored the remark and continued eating his food. Sakura snickered and dropped the subject.

"I'm so excited for the wedding! It'll be so fun to eat good food, dance, and relax," she noted with a dreamy sigh. Sasuke couldn't help but smirk at her childlike wonder.

"I'll be happy when it's over. Then, I won't have to hear all about the wedding drama from Kaa-san," he said in a matter-of-a-fact way. While Sasuke was happy that his brother was getting married, he didn't care for all of the preparation and stress that came along with the wedding. His mother had made it her personal mission to ensure that every part of the wedding went to plan. She wanted to throw Itachi and Izumi a perfect wedding. They were very grateful for her help, but they had tried to get her to relax and not worry so much about the planning as much. Of course, it was in vain as Mikoto had continued to labor over the wedding. Loving mothers were like that.

Sakura shrugged, "For now. She'll probably act the same way when it's your wedding."

Sasuke nearly groaned because she was right. After they finished lunch and went their separate ways, Sasuke couldn't help but wonder what his wedding would be like. One thing was for certain - he couldn't stop picturing a certain pink haired woman as his bride.

**X **

Sasuke arrived at the police station and was greeted by several family members as he made his way to his father's office in the back of the building. As the wedding drew closer, he became closer to taking full responsibility of the police station. The clan elders and Fugaku had agreed to let him take on the role of police chief while Itachi assumed position as head of the clan. It worked out for both of them because Sasuke had no desire to involve himself in village politics while Itachi did.

Fugaku was on board with the plan because it meant he got to retire. After years of pointless meetings with the elders and police press conferences, he was ready for a break. All that was left was training each of his sons to take over each of their roles and filling out some paperwork. Itachi was required to attend all council meetings and read numerous Uchiha clan scrolls in order to understand all of the traditions and ceremonies necessary for a clan leader to know. Initially, Sasuke had teased his brother for all of the reading he'd have to do until Fugaku informed him of all of the police and legal policies he would have to learn for his position. Suddenly, Sasuke wasn't feeling any more fortunate than his brother.

Today, he was at the police station to exchange his scrolls on the rules and regulations surrounding tax evasion for scrolls on how to file paperwork for every type of case. They weren't the most exhilarating topics, but he knew that it was pertinent to know these things. He wanted to do his best as police chief, and he certainly couldn't do that if he didn't know how to file a case properly.

The future chief of police arrived at his father's office and knocked.

"Come in," his father said plainly. Sasuke entered and put the scrolls on his desk. Fugaku looked up from the file he was reading and handed Sasuke a box a new scrolls.

"Have these read by next week," Fugaku instructed.

"Hai Tou-san," Sasuke replied. He turned and left the office with his homework. He wanted to get home and read a few scrolls before dinner. Just as he left the building, his cousin stopped him.

"Hey cuz! Got more homework?" Shisui asked with a grin.

"Hn. What do you want?" Sasuke responded. His cousin annoyed him in a similar way that Naruto did. There were always prodding him and had that same stupid grin.

"No need to be upset. I just wanted to have a little chat with you," the older Uchiha defended with a seemingly innocent smile.

"Fine. Make it quick."

"I wanted to ask you about your teammate," he explained.

Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed in suspicion.

"Who and what about?"

"The pink-haired girl with the hot body," Shisui elaborated with a smirk.

Instantly, Sasuke felt a ball of anger form within his stomach. What did his cousin want with _his _Sakura? He shouldn't be surprised because he knew that Shisui frequently messed around with women. However, he wasn't going to let any male with such intentions near Sakura, much less Shisui the infamous womanizer. He tried to keep his cool, but he couldn't help but glare at his cousin.

Sensing Sasuke's anger, Shisui continued to stir the pot.

"I wanted to check if she's single because I want to take her to Itachi's wedding as my date."

Sasuke nearly snarled. How dare Shisui think he could snatch Sakura away from him! His own family member!

"She's not available," he snapped.

"Oh. I didn't know that she had a boyfriend. Who is he?" Shisui prodded.

Well fuck. Sasuke couldn't say that he was her boyfriend because he didn't think they were official. He also didn't want to notify Shisui that he had a thing with Sakura because his cousin would want to know about the dirty details. He made fun of Itachi for a while when he started dating Izumi and kept asking asking Itachi about his sex life, which mortified Itachi to no end. Sasuke refused to endure the same treatment.

"None of your business. If you'll excuse me, I have some scrolls to read." With that, Sasuke sprinted home while muttering about his pervert of a cousin. A troubling thought crossed his mind. Did other men share the same type of interest in Sakura because they thought she was single? If so, he resigned himself to clear up any confusion on the matter. He would pay Sakura a visit after dinner.

**X**

Shisui rapidly dialed Naruto and told him of his encounter with Sasuke. He was quite pleased with his performance.

"So he totally took the bait?!" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Mhm. He was obviously jealous, and he said 'none of your business' when I asked if Sakura was single," Shisui supplied.

Naruto laughed on the other line. That bastard had a such a possessive side when it came to Sakura.

"Sounds like teme got pretty riled up," the blond nin replied.

"Yup! It's only a matter of time before my baby cuz claims Sakura as his own."

"Ew! Don't say it like that! He's just going to ask Sakura-chan to be his girlfriend!" It had taken Sasuke years to finally show interest in Sakura, so Naruto doubted that anything intimate be happening soon.

"Suuuurre kid. Let me know if you need anything else." For someone who trained under Jiraiya, it amazed Shisui at how naive Naruto could be when it came to sex. If he had to bet, his cousin and Sakura would have sex in less than a month. After sitting through several Team 7 meals, the pair's sexual tension was evident which was why Shisui had avoided anything romantic with Sakura. It was a shame that someone so talented and sexy was being wasted on Sasuke, but someone had to love the poor bastard.

"OK! Thanks for your help. See you next weekend!" Naruto ended the called and giggled to himself.

"I'm gonna to be jonin!" The blond jumped around and danced in joy.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Thank you to everyone reading my story! I'm hoping to wrap it up in a few chapters, but I have another story in the works that I will start posting after completing this one. Be sure to stick around for it! Now, prepare for a little bit of steaminess ;) **

**Chapter 13:**

The Uchiha family had finished their dinner, so Sasuke was free to pay Sakura a visit. He needed to settle things with her once and for all. He wasn't going to put up with men throwing themselves at her because they thought she was single. She was his and his alone. He was so anxious to see her that he went to her apartment without notifying her. He knew that Sakura would be there because she only had regular 9-5 shifts this week and rarely participated in evening social outings on workdays. If she wasn't there, he'd just talk to her at lunch tomorrow. Being impatient, Sasuke wanted to speak with her now.

He arrived at her door and knocked. A few moments passed. Sasuke's fist was itching to knock again until he heard light footsteps padding towards the entrance. A flustered Sakura clad in a fluffy white robe opened the door.

"Sasuke-kun? What are you doing here?" she asked as she stood at the door.

"I needed to talk to you," the Uchiha answered seriously. Sakura nodded and gestured for him to come inside. She was a little confused and worried at his serious tone. Sasuke noticed her damp hair which meant she had probably been in the shower.

"Did I interrupt you?" the ebony haired man inquired.

Sakura shook her head. "No! Not at all. I just got out of the shower when you knocked, so I didn't have time to change into much," she supplied with flushed cheeks.

Sasuke glanced at her form and deduced that she wasn't wearing anything under her robe. She was naked with a simple robe guarding her modesty. He turned his head and tried to gather his thoughts after he had a flashback to the hot springs incident. He needed to remember why he was here. He was here to talk to Sakura about the status of their relationship, not fantasize about her smooth skin or perky breasts.

"Soooo…. why are you here?"

Sasuke coughed and regained his composure as best as he could. He looked at her and stared directly into her emerald eyes.

"Are you my girlfriend?" he demanded.

Immediately Sakura blushed and nervously tucked her hair behind her ear.

"Oh. Um. You haven't asked me to be, but we're dating I suppose. I guess I don't really know then…" she concluded.

"I don't want to see you with other guys, and I don't want them thinking you're avaiable," he relayed.

"Huh?" Sakura was confused. Did he think that she was seeing other men? She was a little offended that he would imply such a thing.

"Sasuke-kun! I'm not seeing anyone else. I assumed that we were exclusive," she responded defensively.

He shook his head. "I didn't mean that. I meant that I want people to know that you're mine, especially your fanboys."

"Are you trying to ask me to be your girlfriend?" she asked.

"Aa. So, will you?" he asked with a hint of nervousness. He was pretty sure that Sakura would say yes, but a part of him was worried that she wouldn't want to commit to him since she seemed to have a lot of other options.

"Yes! Of course!" Sakura launched herself onto Sasuke for a hug. He was surprised by her bold move, but he accepted it, nonetheless. He stroked her hair as she buried her face into the crook of his neck. She couldn't help but giggle and smile. Uchiha Sasuke had asked her to be his girlfriend. She had dreamt of this moment long ago, and it had finally come to fruition. She was on cloud nine.

"What's so funny?" Sasuke inquired.

Sakura lifted her head from his shoulder and looked at him lovingly. "I'm happy!" she proclaimed.

"Good," he replied with a smirk. Sakura's fingers lightly skimmed Sasuke's face. She paused and gasped.

"Does this mean I have to be your date to your brother's wedding?!"

"Well, of course. I need to formally introduce you to the family as my girlfriend," he stated simply.

"Oh no! We need to make sure our outfits are coordinated!" she lamented.

"Don't worry. We'll let Kaa-san take care of that." With that, he leaned in and kissed Sakura senseless. Any worries she had were replaced with thoughts of Sasuke's clever tongue and strong hands. He pulled her onto his lap and continued making out with her with his hands wandering around her lithe form.

Her lips were soft and sweet like berries. He could get used to this. Sakura put her arms around Sasuke's middle and pulled him closer to her form to deepen the kiss. They continued like this for some time until they broke away panting for air.

Sasuke admired Sakura's swollen lips and reddened cheeks. During their kissing, her robe had fallen off one shoulder, and it now tempted him to peruse other, more private areas of her figure. Determined to see more of her, Sasuke caressed her bare shoulder and trailed down to the top off her clavicle and paused to see how she would react.

"You don't have to stop," Sakura offered meekly with her eyes looking down.

"You're sure? I don't want you to be uncomfortable." Originally, Sasuke had no intentions of going any further than kissing because he didn't want to frighten her. It was only moments ago that she had agreed to be his girlfriend. He wanted to make sure that their relationship went at a pace that they were both comfortable with. While he was perfectly comfortable being physically intimate, he realized that Sakura might not be. If she was ready, he wasn't going to hold back.

"Yes. I've wanted to be with you like this for a while. You can touch me however you want Sasuke-kun," she confessed.

Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction, and he gulped. She practically told him that he could do whatever he wanted. She was at his will. He was not expecting this from his innocent Sakura, but her eagerness only excited him further.

With her permission, he leaned in and trailed kisses and nips down her exposed shoulder. She sighed and moaned softly encouraging him to continue. He sat up and pushed both sides of her robe down leaving her top half completely uncovered. Sakura blushed and tried to cover her chest with her arms, but Sasuke grabbed her wrists before she could. His eyes bore into hers intensely, and she looked away.

"Sakura. Don't be embarrassed. You're beautiful," he stated clearly. She looked up at him and let her arms go to her side. Sasuke moved her silky locks behind her shoulders, so he could get a good look at her.

"Besides, it's not anything I haven't seen before," he added with a cocky grin. Sakura rolled her eyes at his remark. She had a feeling that the hot springs incident would never be forgotten.

Continuing to drink her in, Sasuke realized that she was somehow more beautiful now. Maybe, it was because he was allowed to look at her and for a much longer time. He had gotten an idea of what she looked like naked from the hot springs, but he was noticing new details. Her milky skin was without blemishes. Her small waist was perfect for him to grab and hold. Her breasts were full, supple, and round. Just as he remembered, her nipples were pink and puckered. He couldn't resist her anymore, so he dove into her chest and cupped the undersides of both her breasts and suckled on her right nipple. Sakura moaned the moment Sasuke's mouth closed in on her pink nub. Her hands grasped his raven locks as he switched to the other side. He hardened at the sensations of her soft mounds and hair pulling.

He released her nipple and dragged his tongue from her left breast to her neck while cupping her breasts. Sakura panted and touched Sasuke's face lightly.

"Sasuke-kun," she said softly. Said man stopped his ministrations and faced her.

"Yes?"

"Can ...can you take off your shirt? It's not fair that I'm the only one half naked," she urged. He chuckled at her request and removed his shirt to reveal a very toned chest.

"Happy?" he asked his pink haired lover. She nodded and smiled. She dragged her hands down Sasuke's muscled form and admired his body. With his broad shoulders, defined abs, and muscled pectorals, it was no wonder that he had such an active fan club. Sakura stopped just short of Sasuke's belt and flicked his pants button with her index finger.

"You're such a tease," Sasuke proclaimed with a smirk as he grabbed her waist.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Like you're one to talk. I don't walk around shirtless during training like you do," she countered. Sasuke shrugged.

"I don't hear you complaining when I do," he challenged. The pink haired nin blushed and smiled sheepishly. He got her there. She would never ever get tired of the sight of Sasuke's hot body. Thank Kami that he got warm so easily and would take off his shirt during most training sessions. He was a sight to behold.

Sakura closed the remaining distance between their bodies as she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's neck and kissed him with fervor. Sasuke groaned when her chest became completely flush against his. He reveled in the feeling of her soft bosom on his hard chest. His hand caressed her bare back while their mouths continued to explore each other.

"Mhmm," Sakura moaned as Sasuke sucked on her plump bottom lip. He released her lip, and she pressed a chaste kiss on his lips. Suddenly, she pushed him down on the couch, so he laid flat. She smirked at his surprised expression. It was time for her to take initiative in pleasuring him. With her thighs straddling him and palms on his shoulders, Sasuke was trapped. He didn't mind at all. His cherry blossom was proving to be quite a vixen. He smirked up at her beautiful face and admired his handiwork above. Her chest was littered with bite marks and small bruises from his mouth. Her rosy buds were puckered and moist as well. He tried to reach up and feel her globes, but Sakura pushed chakra down on his shoulders rendering him motionless.

Sakura grinned and wagged her finger. "Don't even try. It's my turn to make you feel good. Just lay down and relax," she instructed with a mischievous grin.

Doing as he was told, the Uchiha relaxed and let his girlfriend do as she pleased. Satisfied with his cooperation, she reached down and planted her lips on Sasuke's neck. He groaned at the feeling of her slick tongue and lush lips sucking his skin. She began to kiss down from his neck to his chest gripping his shoulders for support. When she reached his bellybutton, she flicked it with her tongue eliciting a throaty moan from her lover. Sasuke was liking where she was going. His cock pulsed with every kiss and bite. He was extremely hard and in need of a release.

Her mouth continued kissing him south of his belly button stopping short of the top of his pants. She raised her head and dragged a hand to his button. Just as she began unbuttoning his pants, there was a loud rap at the window.

Both heads turned to the source of the disturbance. Thankfully, the window was covered with a curtain, so no one would get an eyeful of the pair. Sasuke growled and got up as Sakura quickly readjusted her robe to cover her hickies and love bites. Fully intent on chewing out the intruder, Sasuke angrily swung open the window to find his brother in uniform. Fuck.

"Nii-san, what are you doing here?" Sasuke demanded. Leave it to his older brother to interrupt him just as he was about to get to third base.

"I'm here to summon Sakura-san to the hospital," he responded smoothly. Someone was in a bad mood. Noticing a few bruises and bite marks on his younger brother's exposed chest, Itachi's eyebrow arched in interest. It seems that his arrival had interrupted some amorous activities which would explain Sasuke's grouchy behavior.

"What are you doing here at such a late hour?" the older Uchiha asked pointedly. He had a pretty good idea of what his brother was doing here, if the love bites were any indication. He just wanted to tease Sasuke a little as all older siblings do.

The tips of Sasuke's ears turned red as he crossed his arms and refused to look his brother in the eyes. Before he could answer, Sakura rushed to the window clad in her scrubs.

"Itachi-san!" she exclaimed in shock. She knew there was an Anbu here to fetch her to go to the hospital, but she thought it was unlikely that Itachi would be the messenger. He was an Anbu captain, so usually he was doing more important things than running errands for the Hokage. Well this was awkward. Supremely awkward.

Sensing Sakura's confusion Itachi explained his presence. "I got back from a solo mission as a team of jonin arrived at the village gates in critical condition. Hokage-sama asked me to summon you to the hospital since your apartment is on my route home."

Getting into medic mode, Sakura shed her embarrassment and nodded.

"I'll get going right away. Thank you Itachi-san," she replied. She turned to Sasuke and said her farewells.

"I'm sorry about this Sasuke-kun. We'll see each other tomorrow for lunch though," she apologized with a truly contrite expression. She was just as disappointed as he was. She was hoping to take their relationship to the next level physically since they were official, but it seemed fate had other plans.

"Don't worry about it. Like you said, I'll see you tomorrow," he affirmed. With a soft smile, she nodded and leapt out of the window leaving the two Uchiha brothers.

"Otouto, let's go home. I doubt Sakura-san will be home soon." Itachi had seen the wounded team, and they were in terrible shape. Sakura would probably been in surgery for hours stitching them up.

Sasuke sighed and went to turn off the lights before heading out.

"Don't forget your shirt," Itachi added with a slight smirk. The younger Uchiha scowled at his brother and retrieved his shirt. With his upper body fully covered, the brothers left Sakura's apartment.

While gliding across the rooftops, Sasuke turned to his brother.

"Not a word of this to anyone, especially Kaa-san," he ordered. Itachi almost laughed at his brother's desire to hide his relationship with Sakura. It wouldn't shock anyone that they had gotten together. It was obvious that their feelings for each other went deeper than friendship.

"Of course, otouto." Itachi would keep this matter quiet in order to fulfill his brotherly obligation. However, it didn't mean that he wasn't going to ask Sasuke a few questions about this new development.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14:**

Thankfully for Sasuke, his brother had kept his word and not referenced a certain incident to anyone else. Kami help him if any of his family members found out, or worse, his knucklehead best friend. While Naruto had gotten over his crush on Sakura years ago, he considered her to be like the little sister he never had. In other words, he would be pissed if he had found out what Sasuke was doing to his precious, innocent Sakura-chan. In Sasuke's opinion, Naruto was even more protective of Sakura than he was, which was saying something. Thus, during his lunch with Sakura, following their midnight rendez-vous at her apartment, they had agreed to keep their relationship under wraps until Itachi's wedding. Between the upcoming wedding, preparing to become police-chief, and navigating his change in relationship status, Sasuke didn't want to deal with Naruto's inevitable temper tantrum. This way both he and Sakura could focus on their current duties without nosy questions and weird glances, and they could let most of their friends and family know about their relationship at one time. The timing and method seemed to work well, _in theory_.

It didn't stop Naruto from bugging Sasuke during their spar about a certain pink-haired teammate.

"Sooooo….. are you going to have a date to Itachi's wedding?" the blond questioned with a smirk. In response, Sasuke rolled his eyes and flung a few kunai towards his sparring partner which the blond effortlessly dodged.

"Well, I think you should take Sakura with you! She definitely doesn't have a date, and I know you don't either," Naruto added. He charged at Sasuke with some punches and kicks.

Sasuke ducked and jumped back several yards.

"It's none of your concern," the Uchiha commented as he charged forward at Naruto.

"Yes! It! Is!" the blond said in between strikes. Like hell it wasn't his business. If Naruto didn't push Sasuke towards Sakura, Sasuke would end up a cranky old man living alone for the rest of his life.

Sasuke flipped over Naruto and unleashed his signature Lion's Barrage. It may be an old move, but the classics were the best in his opinion.

Naruto's arms shielded his face in defense. He tried to grab Sasuke's foot while Sasuke tried to continue executing his move. Neither were successful and jumped apart.

Panting, Naruto looked straight in the eyes and decided to give his emotionally inept friend a piece of his mind.

"If you don't get a move on, someone else is going to come along and woo Sakura. She's been waiting for you to get your head out of your ass for years and make a move! She won't wait forever," the jinchuriki contended.

Sasuke's frowned at the blond's words. He knew that, and it was exactly why Sasuke had made things official with Sakura and planned to make their relationship public in the near future.

"You're wasting your breath."

Sasuke smirked at his sparring partner and turned around to leave. Before Naruto could protest, Sasuke teleported himself home.

"Bastard!" the blond yelled with his fist raised. It was so typical of Sasuke to teleport away when faced with an uncomfortable topic. Oh well, Naruto gave it his best try to push Sasuke to Sakura in this instance. There was always the wedding, and Naruto could possibly use Shisui to make Sasuke even more jealous.

**X **

After successfully evading Naruto's interrogation, Sasuke let out an audible sign as he appeared in front of his house. He slid open the shoji door, and his senses were instantly invaded by the scent of his mother's cooking. Fugaku came home for lunch most days, so Mikoto would prepare something for him. However, Sasuke or Itachi would occasionally join them when they weren't on missions. Thankfully, today was one of those days. Mikoto's food never failed to satisfy Sasuke.

He entered the house and headed towards the kitchen. His mother was grilling some vegetables in a pan while his father sat at the table going over some case files.

"Hello Sasuke-chan! I'm almost done preparing lunch, so please sit down and relax," Mikoto said with a smile.

Fugaku looked up from his work and acknowledged him with a nod. Sasuke and Fugaku discussed a recent case as Mikoto joined them with food in hand.

" His alibi doesn't make sense. Why would he be on the west side of town late on a weekday when he lives on the east side? He gave a vague explanation about getting a gift in the boutique district, but I doubt most of the stores would have been open at that hour."

The Uchiha patriarch nodded and crossed his arms. "He's hiding something. I'm not sure if he's hiding a mistress or a connection to the killer," he speculated.

Both men continued to debate the possibilities of how the witness could be connected to the alleged killer until Mikoto cleared her throat.

" I apologize to Mikoto. I know how you like to keep business at work. How is the wedding planning coming along?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at his father's lame attempt to appease his mother. He was much more interested in talking about police cases than flower arrangements. Unfortunately, his mother tried to limit the discussion of police business during meals in order to facilitate more relaxation and family bonding.

" Thank you for asking dear! I just finished finalizing the decor design for the reception, and now I'm working on seating arrangements."

Sasuke tuned out the conversation as his mother continued to talk about wedding preparations. Meanwhile his father offered non-verbal response to show Mikoto that he was listening.

After finishing his lunch, Sasuke rose to leave the room.

"Sasuke-kun, I have a question for you before you leave. Are you bringing Sakura as your wedding date? I just want to know if I should seat you two together."

Fugaku looked up from his food and waited for an answer. He didn't know that Sasuke was that serious with Sakura. This was an interesting development.

Crap, Sasuke had momentarily forgotten that he needed to let his mother know that Sakura was his wedding date. He didn't want her to get stuck sitting with someone random. He'd also much rather sit with her than most people, including some of his relatives."Aa. Kaa-san, do you have a kimono or yukata that Sakura could wear that would match mine?"

"Of course! Just have her come over tomorrow for a tailor appointment. She can wear one of my older outfits," Mikoto supplied with a smile.

After lunch, Sasuke called Sakura and told her to meet his mother at the main house tomorrow for a fitting. While she was excited to have coordinating outfits with Sasuke, she was a bit nervous to spend some time alone with his mother. Mikoto was a very involved parent, and she was possibly more excited about Sasuke and Sakura becoming an item than Sakura. Anytime they ran into one another out and about after the Spring Festival, Mikoto always made casually coy remarks about them finally dating. It embarrassed but amused . She could sympathize with Mikoto's excitement. However, Sasuke was less enthused with his mother's comments as he wanted to keep their relationship on the DL at least until Itachi's wedding. He made a mental note to tell his mom to tone down the cooing when Sakura came over tomorrow.

**X**

_Ring. ring. ring._

The sleepy individual rolled over and grabbed the phone. "Mmmm…. Hello?"a gravelly voice answered.

"Yo! Shisui. I need your help again!" Naruto had decided to call Shisui and enlist his help yet again before the wedding in three days. That also meant he had four days left before the bet deadline.

Shisui grumbled in annoyance."This better be good to wake me up blondie!"

Naruto scoffed. "Of course it is!" When Naruto got his idea, he had to tell Shisui right away. Unfortunately for Shisui, it was 3am.

"Anyways, we need to turn up the heat on Sasuke during Itachi's wedding," the knucklehead explained.

"Are you _sure_ Itachi's wedding is an appropriate venue for your shenanigans?" While Shiusi wasn't your typical traditional Uchiha, he didn't want Naruto's antics to ruin or upstage his best friend and cousin's wedding.

"It will be fine! I just need you to dance with Sakura in front of Sasuke." He wasn't worried one bit. Contrary to Shisui's concern, Naruto thought that the Uchiha wedding would be the perfect place to push Sasuke and Sakura together. It would certainly bug Sasuke to see his womanizing cousin dancing with the only girl he's ever liked, and he wouldn't be able to do anything explosive with his family and Kohona elites present.

Weighing the tradeoffs, Shisui relented and accepted the blond's request. One dance with Sakura wouldn't kill him if it meant Sasuke could be happy. "I guess I could do that. If Sasuke murders me though, I'm holding you accountable."

Naruto grinned. "Don't worry. He will at least wait until after the wedding to get back at you."

Shisui shook his head and sighed. It was easy for him to say that he wasn't going to have to risk incurring Sasuke's wrath at a high profile event. The Uchiha reasoned that it was probably better that he was executing the plan rather than Naruto since the blond was not nearly as subtle or calm and collected. There was a reason that Shisui was an ANBU member while Naruto was not.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll see you later this weekend."

"Bye! Thank you for your help!" Naruto ended the phone call and patted himself on the back for a job well done. He was pretty confident of something coming of his plan for the wedding, but he only had four days left until the bet deadline. Since the wedding was in three days, he really only had to one day as a cushion in case Sasuke and Sakura didn't become official. In his experience, these types of things tended to work out in his favor, so it was best to carry on and not worry about it. The knucklehead padded over to his bedroom and plopped on his bed to catch some much needed shut eye.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: **

Mikoto held Sakura's hair aside as the tailor finished making adjustments with the pins. Today, Sakura was getting fitted for her kimono which was previously worn by Mikoto when she was Sakura's age. She had insisted that Sakura wear it because it matched well with Sasuke's outfit, and she claimed it would be good luck for since she wore it on her introduction to Fugaku's parents before they married. The pink-haired ninja didn't quite know what to make of that comment, so she smiled and went along with the fitting.

Sakura was very appreciative because she did not have an outfit on hand that would coordinate well with Sasuke, and with such short notice she didn't have time to find a kimono and get it fitted. The dress was an older style, but it suited Sakura. The fabric was a deep navy, and the sash and collar were adorned with red and white lilies. The kimono was a little long for Sakura and needed to be taken in at the waist, but it fit her rather well.

"It's a good thing that you and Uchiha-sama have similar sizes. I'll have the kimono ready by tomorrow, so I can drop it off in the morning along with the other outfits," the tailor commented.

Mikoto clasped her hands together in appreciation. "Thank you Hikari-san, especially since this was short notice."

"Yes, thank you very much!" Sakura added with a smile.

The seamstress nodded with a smile and instructed Sakura to go to the restroom and change out of the kimono. The tailoring session had been much less painful than Sakura had anticipated since Sasuke complained endlessly about his previous fittings. Apparently, the sessions went on so long because Mikoto kept making suggestions for alterations. The no nonsense Uchiha didn't see why his mother made such a big deal over his outfit. It wasn't like it was his wedding, but he knew not to mention that to his mother. He wanted to avoid any arguments about the wedding.

After the fitting Sakura returned to the hospital for her afternoon shift. Since she spent her lunch break at the fitting, she didn't get to have lunch with Sasuke, so he suggested that he meet her at her apartment later with some take out. She was all too happy to oblige and have a night off from making dinner. It had also been several days since she had been alone with Sasuke. The last time they were alone was at her apartment when Itachi had interrupted them doing _things. _To make matters worse, Naruto made a few suggestive jokes about the pair during Team 7's training session yesterday. There was no way Naruto would know about them. Sure he knew about the Spring festival date, but they had played it off as a friendly outing as a way to re-establish their friendship after the hot spring incident. That's why Naruto's comments worried Sakura. She and Sasuke had agreed to wait until the wedding to tell people about their relationship[, save for their parents, that they were dating. Itachi was the only other person who knew, but he was not a gossip. She'd have to ask Sasuke about Naruto because Kami knows the whole village would know about them dating before they had a chance to tell anyone. Aside from being the number one knucklehead in Konoha, Naruto arguably was the number one worst secret keeper, almost in league with Ino, which was no small feat.

_Flashback _

_Sakura and Sasuke were sparring while Naruto and Sai observed them. The first person to get pinned within the time limit won. So far, Sasuke had the upper hand. Dodging one of his fireballs, Sakura decided that she was tired of being on the defensive. It would take more than brute strength and speed to beat Sasuke, so she would need to use strategy. She had formed a plan, but it wasn't foolproof. She was relying on an experimental jutsu which was risky because it had a 50% chance of working the way she intended. Deciding to execute her strategy, she hit the ground with a chakra infused fist and created a large fissure. Sasuke was caught off guard and shielded his eyes from the flying debris. Sakura took advantage of his brief visual impairment and created several clones and attacked him from all sides. Sasuke would be able to see with his sharingan that they were only clones, but it would buy Sakura enough time to hide underground. _

_Sure enough, Sasuke saw through her ruse. He knew Sakura was sending out clones to distract him, so she could attack him from below. She had seen her use this tactic on Naruto, and it usually worked because Naruto was a dobe. After he quickly fought off all of the clones, they melted into a thick purple sludge that covered his feet . The mystery substance hardened into a clay-like material and rendered him immobile. Before he could use his Amaterasu to try to break free, the real Sakura sprung up from below the ground and tackled him flat on his back. _

_Naruto jumped up and down as he cheered on Sakura from the sidelines. _

"_Wooohooo! Sakura-chan won!"_

"_Looks like Ugly is the winner," Sai declared. Normally Sakura would react to Sai's rude nickname, but she was so happy and surprised that her new jutsu had worked that she ignored him. She sighed happily and grinned as she reveled in her small victory. She rarely beat Sasuke in one-on-one spars. _

_Sasuke was initially impressed with his girlfriend's new jutsu, but now he was uncomfortably aware that she still was straddling him in front of his other teammates. It brought back memories of a few nights ago when they almost got to third base, or so he hoped, until Itachi had ruined it. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only person who was aware of their suggestive position. _

_Naruto sauntered up to the pair with a smug grin. Sai followed him. _

"_You two look comfortable. Familiar position?" he asked as he crossed his arms and looked down at the pair. Sakura blushed at the implication and sprang off of Sasuke. Sasuke's face remained deadpan. He was immune to Naruto's suggestive commentary. _

"_How could that be comfortable? Ugly looks like she's crushing Emo," the artist added while completely missing the euphemism. _

_Sakura growled at her socially inept friend's comment and focused her anger towards the knucklehead of the group. "Shut up you perv!" With a fist raised, Sakura was poised to hit him until Sasuke cleared his throat. Sakura glanced over at him and realized that she needed to help him get out of the remnants of her sludge jutsu. Naruto snickered and he watched her return to help Sasuke. _

"_Keep laughing. You're just lucky that I have to help Sasuke-kun," Sakura countered with a sneer. The kunoichi tended to her sparring opponent and used her superstength to break the casts around his feet. _

"_Come on Sai. Let's get some Ichiraku! We'll leave Sakura-chan to help Sasuke out," Naruto and Sai headed to the ramen shop leaving the couple alone. Sakura finished freeing Sasuke and helped him up. _

"_New jutsu?" the Uchiha inquired. _

"_Yes. I've been working on it for a few months, and this was the first time I used it in battle." Sakura stood up and wiped her hands on her shorts. _

_ "I've never seen anything like it. It's impressive." Sasuke was very intrigued by this new jutsu. _

_ "Thank you Sasuke-kun." Sakura tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and smiled at him. Sasuke rarely praised her battle prowess, so it was very appreciated when he did. _

_ "If you're going back to the hospital, I'll walk you since it's on my way to the station." Sakura agreed to Sasuke's suggestion. She used the duration of the walk to explain how she was inspired to create her new jutsu. On her trip to Suna months ago, she encountered a nin with a similar jutsu except the sludge clones exploded. She wanted to develop a way to concentrate the explosion, so it would slow down or temporarily inhibit an opponent's movement. It was a work in progress as the jutsu worked about half of the time because the sludge was too thin to harden or too thick to spread fast enough to the opponent. Nevertheless, it was an effective jutsu when executed correctly. When they arrived at the hospital, Sasuke kissed Sakura's temple and departed with a promise of a dinner date later in the week. _

**X **

_Knock. Knock. _

"Coming!" Sakura yelled as she rushed to answer the door. Sasuke had picked up take out for dinner. Sakura was all too happy to take a night off from cooking. Things at the hospital had been hectic with the training program wrapping up. Sakura was finishing making the graduation exam and needed to submit it to Tsunade by tomorrow afternoon in order to get her approval to administer it.

Sakura let Sasuke in and led him to her kitchen table. They unpacked the food and discussed any recent developments in their work. Sasuke seemed to be in a good mood since he had recently finished a large amount of paperwork for a triple homicide case. Since cases of that nature included a plethora of witnesses who were questioned, it resulted in more documentation. Now was her chance to bring up Naruto's joke.

"Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke looked up and in response.

"Naruto doesn't know that we're girlfriend and boyfriend, right? I'm just asking because he made that comment at practice a few days ago. He better not go blabbering about us and especially at the wedding. I'm so nervous to be formally introduced to the elders, and I don't want Naruto to embarrass me."

Sakura was terrified to meet the Uchiha elders. They were notorious for being difficult for the sake of being difficult. Whether it was disapproval of Sasuke's placement with Team 7 or resistance of Itachi and Izumi impending marriage, they always found a way to be an obstacle to anything that didn't fit into their ideals of tradition. They intended for Sasuke to be placed on a team with just Uchihas, and they wanted Itachi to marry a full blooded Uchiha - not someone mixed. If the elders were to find out that Sasuke was seeing Sakura from Naruto, it would give them another reason to be against their relationship since it was customary for significant others to be introduced to them before relationships became public.

Her boyfriend sighed. He was very cognizant of the elders being pains in the ass. Frankly, he didn't care what they thought since their opinions were irrelevant to the current time period. The opinions of close friends and family only held weight to Sasuke. He sure as hell wasn't going to let the clan elders antiquated views on marriage and relationships interfere with his relationship with Sakura. Introducing her to them was merely a formality. Naruto also knew how problematic the Uchiha elders were since they had made snide comments about the jinchuriki's friendship with Sasuke. Needless to say, he avoided them at all costs. Sasuke doubted Naruto would say anything to them.

"Dobe may be dense, but he knows to avoid upsetting the elders. Besides, he couldn't know that we're together. I haven't said anything to him. As for the elders, don't worry about them. I couldn't care less what they think. I'm only introducing you to them because it's a longstanding tradition in my clan." He hoped that his perspective would put Sakura at ease. She tended to worry about what others thought of her.

The pinkette frowned and picked at her food. She was still worried. If the elders disapproved of their relationship, would they be able to end it or make Sasuke's life difficult? She had long dreamt of being with Sasuke, but she wouldn't be able to live with herself if he couldn't take the police chief position because they were involved with each other. Sasuke had wanted to become chief of police since he was a young boy, and Sakura wouldn't stand in his way. The notion scared her.

"Would us being together preclude you from becoming chief of police?" she inquired softly as she kept her head down.

Sasuke's brows furrowed in confusion. "Of course not. The clan elders have no authority over the police station, and their opinion is not relevant to our relationship. The current chief picks the successor, and Tou-san is not going to change his mind because of my relationship status. Even though he and your mentor clash sometimes, he is supportive of our relationship."

Mulling over his explanation, Sakura still didn't fully understand what the clan elders actually did, but she was satisfied to know that they couldn't impact her relationship with Sasuke.

"As long as they don't get in the way of us I'm fine. I still don't understand clan politics though."

Sasuke chuckled dryly. "All you need to know is that clan politics are troublesome."

"You sound like Shikamaru," she replied with a smile. Any anxiety Sakura had about the future of their relationship evaporated. If Sasuke wasn't worried, she shouldn't be either.

Sasuke shrugged and continued eating his food. "Regardless, if my clan had some bearing on our ability to date, I wouldn't let them keep us apart."

The casual yet heartfelt admission melted Sakura's heart. She was incredibly lucky to have such a devoted boyfriend. For all of Sasuke's flaws, no one could accuse him of being non-committal or dishonest. When Sasuke said he would do something, he meant it.

"All I have to worry about is Naruto making a scene tomorrow at the wedding when he finds out that we're officially together, assuming he doesn't know already."

Sasuke smirked. "Dobe does not possess any deductive reasoning skills, so he doesn't know anything. And if he reacts poorly, there's always my sharingan."

Rolling her eyes at her boyfriend's extreme suggestion, she launched. Leave it to Sasuke to use his sharingan as a solution to his personal problems.

The pair spent the rest of the night drinking a bottle of sake to prematurely celebrate Itachi's wedding. Sasuke left soon after they finished the bottle because both he and Sakura needed to be up early to get ready for the wedding.

**X**

The big day was finally here. It was going to be the wedding of the century with how much time and money the Uchiha clan had spent. Mikoto was full of mixed emotions. On one hand, she was ecstatic that her eldest had the one after several years of showing little to no interest in women in favor of focusing on his career. On the other hand, she was sad to see him moving out. She was halfway to being an empty nester, and she figured that Sasuke would also marry and move out in the near future. There were many things she was looking forward to once she became an empty nester such as finally taking a vacation longer than a week, but it was the end of a very wonderful chapter of her life. Now Itachi, once her tiny baby, was all grown up and preparing to start his own family.

Today was a celebration, so she would treat it as such. Mikoto had gotten up early this morning to get herself ready before she and Fugaku supervised the ceremony and reception setup. The ceremony would be held in the courtyard while the reception would take place on the lake.

Konoha was lovely in summer, so it made sense to take advantage of the natural light and temperate climate with an outdoor wedding. So far, Mikoto was on schedule. She herself was dressed and ready for the wedding. The hair and makeup team had arrived and were currently attending to Izumi and the other female wedding party members. Much to Sasuke's chagrin, the Uchiha matriarch enlisted him to chorale the wedding party for photos and make sure the male half of the party was awake and presentable. The bachelor party was the night before the wedding, and any groomsman over 21 was present for club hopping. Thankfully, Sasuke was 18, so he was not obligated to attend and engage in what he considered indecent behavior. How Shisui convinced Itachi to have such a raunchy celebration was a mystery to all.

Currently, Mikoto was outside in the courtyard helping with last minute decoration touch-ups while the catering team arrived. A warm hand momentarily clasped her shoulder, and she turned around to face her husband.

"Almost done?" he asked.

Mikoto smiled wearily. "Yes, but I need to check over everything once the setup is done."

Obviously, his wife was having mixed emotions about the wedding. Of course she was thrilled when Itachi announced his engagement to Izumi, but as the wedding inched closer she became melancholy at the realization that Itachi would be moving out. There wouldn't be at family dinners as frequently. She wouldn't be the first person to greet him when he returned from his latest mission. His bride would come before everyone else, which is how a husband should his wife, but Mikoto was still adjusting to this transition. It was ironic in a way because Fugaku usually found himself having more trouble with change than Mikoto, but in this instance he was more than ready for Itachi to marry so he could step down as clan leader. His tenure as clan head had been full of war, fighting, and uncomfortable changes.

"This is difficult for you, but it's for the best. Itachi is getting the happiness and peace he deserves." Fugaku tried his best to offer her some consolation.

The Uchiha matriarch nodded. "I know, and I'm happy for him, but -" she paused, "planning the wedding has made me realize that we're past the days when the children were little. Now, I come home and wonder where the kids are and instead I have two young men in my home."

Glancing towards Fugaku, he showed concern.

"I do miss the days when they didn't talk back and argue with me," he added dryly with a smirk.

Mikoto giggled and replied "It's so hard to believe that Itachi, my forever baby, is a full-fledged adult and will start a family of his own. And Sasuke isn't far behind." It was apparent to her that her youngest had fallen hard for Sakura. Even though they had a rocky start to their romantic relationship, they managed to work things out. It was wonderful because Sasuke had been in a much better mood the past week or so. He wasn't temperamental or as sensitive as he had been during his preteen years, but he could be reactive and quiet at times. Now, he talked more freely and laughed more often. His relationship with Sakura was having a positive effect on him.

"They're grown men. It's only natural that they marry and move out at some point. Besides, now I can retire, and you don't have to be responsible for cooking and cleaning for two extra people." He was clearly looking forward to slowing down some. In fact, he had a special surprise for Mikoto to lift her spirits. Now seemed like a good time to reveal it to her.

The Uchiha patriarch reached down in his pocket and grabbed something as his wife looked on with confusion. He revealed two paper slips and handed them to her.

"Fugaku? These are ..."

She stood speechless as she gazed upon his gift. They were two tickets to a month long cruise in River Country. She had briefly mentioned her interest in the trip to Fugaku a few months prior. She was quite impressed that he had remembered and purchased the tickets on his own.

"I figured this would be a nice way to celebrate my retirement and all the hard work you put into the wedding," he explained with a casual shrug.

Mikoto beamed at her husband for his incredibly thoughtful gesture. He wasn't always the best with words, but he made up for it with his actions.

"Thank you. I can't tell you how grateful I am to you!"

Fugaku placed his arm on the small of Mikoto's back and leaned over her to whisper something. She blushed and stifled a giggle.

"I'm sure that can be arranged," she replied with a coy smile.

From the other side of the courtyard, Sasuke looked on with slight nausea at his parents' flirtatious exchange. Maybe it was the excitement of their eldest finally moving out, but they had been acting like a couple of teenagers the past few weeks. Sasuke did not appreciate it since he still had to live with them and thus witness their distasteful antics. He rolled his eyes and proceeded to usher in the rest of the wedding party for photos. After suffering through an hour of poses and lighting adjustments, the photography session was over, and the ceremony could finally begin.

**X**

Seated next to her best friend and his girlfriend, Sakura fidgeted with her sash. She was a bit on edge because she would be introduced to the Uchiha elders today. It didn't help that she was seated behind a few of them and could hear them express their displeasure with Itachi's bride.

"The heir to the clan, and he's choosing to wed a mut," an old woman muttered.

"What have the Uchiha come to? Letting someone who isn't pure blood marry into the head family could be catastrophic for the sharingan," the other elder commented.

It was unsurprising that the elders were still so upset about the wedding. They had a fit when Itachi announced his engagement to Izumi. First, they were offended that he hadn't sought their council before getting engaged. Second, and most importantly, they were livid that he had chosen a bride who was not a 'pure blood' as Izumi's father was not an Uchiha. Especially after suffering massive casualties in the Fourth Shinobi War, the elders were extremely concerned with preserving their bloodline limit. The chances of offspring obtaining the sharingan were less likely if their parents were not pure bloods.

Until now, Sakura hasn't even considered the possibility of the issue with respect to her and Sasuke. If they had children, would they have the sharingan? If they didn't, would Sasuke be upset? Would they be rejected from the other Uchiha? Maybe today wouldn't be the best time to tell the elders that she and Sasuke were involved since they were already in a bad mood.

Snapping her out of her stupor, Naruto elbowed her.

"You ok?" he whispered with concern.

Keeping her voice down she explained, "I just can't believe that anyone would be upset that Itachi and Izumi are getting married when they're clearly meant to be together. Why should your heritage matter?"

Her blond companion nodded in agreement.

"Well I think people should just marry who they love. The whole point of marriage is to devote your life to the person you love." In his impassioned state, he spoke loudly enough to garner others attention. The elders gave his distasteful looks, but before they could say anything the processional started.

"Naruto! You can't say stuff like that out loud here," Sakura admonished quietly.

He crossed his arms and huffed. It was ridiculous to oppose marriage on the basis of family lines. Bloodline limits weren't everything. Sure, they could be helpful, but there are plenty of powerful ninja that didn't possess doujutsu. People should marry because of love not because of genetics. In fact, marrying a relative was kind of weird.

The ceremony finally started, and it was beautiful and because of the decor or fanfare. It was beautiful because the love radiating from the couple was visible. Izumi was practically glowing, and Itachi had a soft gaze fixed on her the entire time. True to Itachi's style of doing things his own way, he and Izumi had written their own vows. Rarely did Itachi reveal his emotions, but today he did.

"Thank you for loving me for me, not my titles. I love you all the same as well. Your kindness, determination, and beauty are what made me notice you, not your heritage. I'm honored to get to spend the rest of my life with you. I can't promise I'll be a perfect husband, but I will always love you and strive to make you happy."

Itachi's words were sincere, and they gave Sakura hope that she and Sasuke would make it.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16:**

The guests moved to the reception area for some appetizers and drinks while the wedding party had more photos taken, much to Sasuke's dismay. After the photos were finished, dinner would be served and followed with dancing under the large canopy adjacent to the lake. While the reception was outside, the decor was nothing short of immaculate. Starting with the entrance, a parted red curtain opened to the dining area. There were tables on one side, and the other had a wooden dance floor. Each silk navy covered table had six place settings of crystal china and an intricate center piece of red roses and navy ribbons. Sakura, Naruto, and Hinata found their table and sat to enjoy pork gyoza and some sake.

The blond was talking about their recent mission to the Land of Spring, so Sakura tuned him out in favor of searching for Sasuke. She had briefly seen him during the processional, but they hadn't spoken yet. Last night he told her that he would introduce her to the elders shortly before the dancing began. After seeing Itachi and Izumi happy together, she wasn't fearful of the elders. If they could do it, she and Sasuke could as well. She wanted to rip the band aid off and move on with her life.

Hearing a chair scuff the ground, Sakura turned and saw her former sensei in formal wear. His eyes crinkled upon seeing her as he sat down.

"Hello Sakura," he greeted.

"Kaka-sensei! I thought you were on a mission," she exclaimed in surprise. Naruto and Hinata were also alerted of the copy nin's presence.

"Kakashi sensei! What are you doing here?!" the blond asked with wide eyes.

"I was, but I finished early… due to extenuating circumstances." Sakura snorted at his vague response. Even after knowing him for over a decade, he never ceased to be cryptic. Members of the wedding party began to file into the dining area signaling the start of the formal dinner. Sakura caught a glimpse of her boyfriend who was talking to his mother. Sasuke was a handsome man, but him in formalwear practically put him on sex god level. His deep navy kimono wrapped around his broad shoulders and clung to his sturdy chest. With his arms crossed, the wide sleeves rode up to reveal muscled forearms and contracted biceps. At this moment, all Sakura wanted was to be pressed up against a wall and trapped by his body while he trailed kisses down her clavicle. He turned his head, and their gazes connected. He responded with a smirk, and her cheeks burned. Looking away, she felt as if she had been caught red handed. She also swore that she could hear Mikoto giggle.

"Sakura-chan? Are you ok? You're kind of red." Naruto stared inquisitively at her.

Laughing nervously, Sakura brushed it off. "I'm fine! I'm fine! Oh look, they're starting to serve dinner." With the interruption of food, Naruto and Hinata were distracted. Ever perceptive, the gray-haired nin glanced knowingly at Sakura. He had heard rumors, mostly from Naruto, but he didn't have any proof of his own that something was going on between two of his former students. Now, he might have to have a talk with the Uchiha about how to treat Sakura properly and ensure he wasn't taking advantage of her. She was a smart girl, but she tended to make irrational decisions when feelings of the heart got involved. As her former sensei and an older brother figure, Kakashi took it upon himself to protect Sakura from heartbreak; of course, he was more discreet than some of the other male members of Team Seven.

Following numerous toasts, dinner, and the cake cutting, the dancing finally began. After Itachi danced with his mother and Izumi with hers, the dance floor was open to everyone. Like clockwork, Sasuke appeared by Sakura's side.

"Sakura. Come with me," he ordered. The kunoichi arose from her seat and followed Sasuke leaving Naruto supremely confused.

"Ugh… what was that about?"

Kakashi shrugged nonchalantly and took out his Icha Icha book. It seemed that Sakura was about to be introduced to the elders. Having worked closely with many Uchiha, Kakashi had some understanding of the clan's traditions. They had to be pretty serious if Sasuke was introducing her. It would be very interesting to see how Naruto reacted to the news considering that he had been gunning for the two to get together.

The blond nin looked serious in thought over the matter until the DJ announced that the next song was for all of the couples attending. Being a wonderful boyfriend, he excitedly jumped up and pulled Hinata with him to the dance floor.

**X**

"Are you ready?" he asked. After whisking Sakura away from the canopy, Sasuke led her to the small fishing shed a few meters from the lake to talk privately before they spoke with the elders.

She nodded and sighed. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be. Plus, your parents and Itachi like me, so that's all that matters."

Sasuke huffed and crossed his arms. "All that matters is that I like you." His response elicited a peel of laughter from his girlfriend who pulled him by the shoulders towards her.

"Of course! I'm just joking, sheesh." He completed the embrace as he wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her chaste kiss. They pulled apart and set off to the courtyard to meet the elders.

"By the way," he added, "I like that dress on you, but I'll like it even better when I take it off you." Blushing and smacking his arm lightly, she took his hand and walked towards the courtyard where they would reveal their relationship to the elders.

**X**

Having gotten carried away with the music and his lovely girlfriend, the knucklehead _ almost _forgot to confer with Shisui. Hinata had suggested a water break from dancing, so she retired to their table while Naruto tracked down Shisui. Unsurprisingly, he found the body flicker nin chatting up one of Kiba's female cousins.

"Shisui!" The man in question excused himself from his female companion and followed Naruto to an empty table.

"I need you to find Sakura-chan and ask her to dance while I find Sasuke, so he sees you dancing together." Naruto's last chance plan was to get Shisui to make Sasuke jealous by dancing with Sakura. However, the plan hinged on actually finding his two friends who had all but vanished after the first few songs.

"Sure, but where are they? Now that I think about it, I haven't seen either of them since the dinner."

The blond grinned and chuckled. "Well, I do happen to be dating one of the top tracker nin."

Shisui looked wary. "Are you sure that we should be entangling Hinata-san in one of your hair brained schemes? She's - you know - decent and a rule follower."

"Hey! My scheme is not hair-brained! And, we're not breaking any laws!" The Uchiha rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine, but you owe me for this one."

The pair found Hinata, and Naruto easily convinced the Hyuga to help them. She was apprehensive at first, but she agreed when Naruto used his puppy dog eyes. He tended to get a lot of things from her that way.

"Ok so the last time I saw them, they were headed to the shed." The purple haired girl nodded and discreetly activated her byakugan to search the area. Seeing nothing, she shook her head and deactivated her doujutsu.

"What about the main house? One of them could have gone there to freshen up." Shisui's suggestion seemed plausible, so Hinata employed her doujutsu again. She scanned the house from left to right and suddenly stopped. Her eyes widened, and her face grew as red as a tomato. Black dots populated her vision, and she fainted into Naruto's arms.

"Crap! Hinata-chan!" The jinchuriki tried to rouse her girlfriend to no avail.

"She must have overused her doujutsu." Shisui offered. Naruto groaned in frustration and presented his hypothesis to his Uchiha friend. "Last night, she came back from a mission, so she's probably still tired. I shouldn't have asked her to help us." Some boyfriend he was. She was nervous to help when he first asked her to do so, and he had to pressure her with the puppy dog eyes.

"Look, don't worry about Sasuke and Sakura. I'll figure something out. You need to take care of Hinata-san." Shisui patted him on the shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. He sighed and nodded.

"Ok. But you have to promise to call me tomorrow and fill me in!" Shisui agreed, and the blond teleported himself and his girlfriend to her home.

It struck Shisui odd that the Hyuga had fainted from a small use of her doujutsu, even given the information that she had recently returned from a mission. However, it was common knowledge that Hinata fainted upon becoming flustered. Maybe she saw something that wasn't meant to be seen by prying eyes. Thoroughly intrigued, Shisui headed towards the main house to investigate.

He passed through the courtyard and heard the clan elders complaining about something.

"What an outrage?!"

"I had higher hopes for Sasuke. It's a shame that he's making the same mistake as his brother."

The complaints weren't unusual as the elders were upset by anything that defied tradition, and Shisui was often a target of their criticism for his womanizing ways. It was technically Uchiha law that individuals waited until marriage to have sex. Obviously, it wasn't strictly followed nor enforced, but it didn't stop the elders from whining about it. However, once Itachi was installed as clan head, he would be making sweeping changes to Uchiha law.

Shisui sped to the door and ignored the disdainful looks from the elders. In order to expedite his search of the house, he activated his sharingan. He sensed the chakras of some of his relatives in the dining room and kitchen, but he didn't detect his cousin or his pink-haired teammate. He wandered to the bedrooms and scanned again, nothing. It was silent, and he didn't register any chakra signatures. Then, he heard footsteps and a creak coming from Itachi's room. He padded over and swung the door open to find Sasuke on top of Sakura, whose kimono had slipped from her shoulder. Her neck and chest were covered in small red marks. Her arms wrapped around her chest to cover herself. The older Uchiha could guess what they were up to. His little cousin gave him look of pure fury. He was clearly upset about being interrupted. What was it with his family members ruining his intimate moments with Sakura?

"What are you doing here?" the younger Uchiha ground out.

Shisui chuckled. "I came looking for Sakura-chan, so I could ask her to dance. Looks like she's doing something more interesting though." He flashed them a crooked smile and turned to leave.

"Wait! Please don't tell anyone about this Shisui! I don't want to get any more complaints from the elders." Sakura's jade orbs gleamed with worry.

The man sighed and gave her the classic Uchiha smirk. Suddenly, the elders' comments and the pair's disappearance made sense. Sasuke must have notified the elders of their courtship. "Anything for you Sakura-chan. I'm just glad that my little cousin has a sex drive." He bolted out of the room as Sasuke hurled obscenities and a pillow, which Shisui successfully dodged.

Before he could call Naruto, the Inuzuka girl who had been flirting with him earlier intercepted him for a night of heavy drinking and pleasure. He was out cold for the next twenty four hours, rendering him unable to contact his blond nin about recent developments.

The morning after the wedding, Hinata regained consciousness, and the blond nin apologized profusely for enlisting her for his cause.  
"Hinata-chan, I'm so so so sorry! Please forgive me! I should have known better than to ask you to use your Byakugan right after you got back from your mission." Naruto felt like the worst boyfriend ever for endangering his precious lover's health.

"It's ok Naruto-kun! It's not your fault. It's strange that I fainted after using my Byakugan so little, but I suppose I didn't rest enough after my mission." Having little recollection of what she saw, which was Sasuke and Sakura making out, she was surprised that her exhaustion caused her to pass out.

"Thank you for being understanding Hinata-chan. I'm going to go run a few errands, but I'll be back in a couple of hours. Get some rest, and I'll have lunch waiting for you when you wake up." A smile graced the Hyuga's pale lips, and she laid back down on the bed to get some sleep.

Before he left, Naruto went to the kitchen to make three phone calls. At the end of last night and earlier this morning, before Hinata awoke, he tried to reach Sasuke, Sakura, or Shisui. Oddly enough, none of them picked up their phones. Frustrated with the silence and the fact that the bet deadline was tomorrow, he tried to call each of them again. Once more, he encountered answering machines. It had crossed his mind to call Itachi, but in a rare moment of social grace Naruto decided against disturbing the Anbu captain the morning after his wedding.

All that he could do now was wait, or he could stop by their residences. Being impatient, he chose the second option. Sakura and Shisui's apartments were empty. His last hope was the Uchiha compound. Since he didn't have much time to waste because he still needed to stop at the ramen stand, he opted to sneak into the main house compound. He tended to get distracted and waste time when en route to Sasuke's house with small talk with his relatives.

He teleported himself to the front porch and knocked. There was no answer, so he closed his eyes and attempted to find any chakra signatures. He hadn't completely lost hope because his antisocial best friend had a habit of concealing his chakra in order to avoid interruption of his "alone time". He located the window to Sasuke's bedroom and knocked.

"Hey bastard! Come out here! I have something to talk to you about!" No answer. Sasuke was probably feeling especially antisocial after a whole day of large group activities. Naruto had no choice but to bring out the big guns.

"If you don't come out here, I'll tell your dad who spilled tea on the downtown racketeering file!" There was still no answer, so the jinchuriki pried the window open. It was odd because his moody friend usually responded to anything related to his father. Even more odd, Sasuke's bedroom was devoid of Sasuke.

He huffed in frustration at his bad luck. He was screwed if he didn't figure out something soon. He only had one day left, and he had yet to confirm if his best friends were in a relationship. "You've got to be kidding me!" His time had run out, so he went to obtain ramen for lunch. Back at his apartment, he continued to call the three missing individuals periodically but continued to get voicemails until ten minutes before midnight. Finally, Shisui returned his thirty calls.

"You have a lot of explaining to do! Why haven't you been answering my calls?!" the blond interrogated.

"I got _distracted _last night by a very eager young lady, and I got black out drunk with her following some pretty dirty -" Before he could give more details, the blond cut him off.

"Ew! Whatever. Just tell me what happened after I left the wedding. Are Sasuke and Sakura officially together?"

"You wouldn't believe what I saw. I walked around the main house, and I found Sasuke -"

_Knock. Knock. _

"Wait! I gotta go. Someone's at the door. I'll call you in a couple minutes ok?"

"No Naruto you don't understand!" Naruto ended the call and opened the door. It was an Anbu.

"You've been summoned by lady Tsunade to come to her office immediately." Wanting to protest and call his friend back, Naruto smartly kept his mouth shut and followed the masked nin. He didn't want to risk the wrath of the Godaime when he might have lost the bet. During the journey to Hokage Tower, he feared the worst. He truly thought that his friends were officially together as Tsunade had put it, but he didn't have any proof other than flustered looks from his friends when he mentioned it. Maybe, Tsunade was in a good mood since Itachi would be the clan head soon, so she wouldn't have to argue with Fugaku at council meetings. Who was he kidding, this was Tsunade. The woman got angry at the slightest indiscretions whether it was Naruto asking for more missions or his teacher making a few lewd jokes.

He arrived at the top floor of the tower and approached her office. Gulping, he knocked.

"Come in," the Hokage's stern voice answered. He entered and prayed to Kami that Tsunade would be reasonable, just this once.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17: **

Naruto trembled before the blond Hokage. He had hoped she would be reasonable, but she already looked angry before he spoke.

_I'm doomed! She's going to make me the laughing stock of the village, _he thought.

"So…" she began slowly with her fingers interlaced under her chin. Her amber eyes pierced through the jinchuriki, and he began to sweat.

"It's midnight, so it's technically been a month since we made that bet. What do you have to report Uzumaki?" The old hag would count this as the deadline, so she could justify giving him the minimum time to finish his end of the deal.

He giggled nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Well…."  
"Get on with it! I don't have all day." A vein arose from her forehead, and her gaze became akin to that of a predator stalking its prey. The change in the Godaime's demeanor urged Naruto to continue talking. It was ironic that she was getting upset with him for not talking because his talking usually caused her anger.

"Fine! I'm really really sorry Baa-chan! I couldn't find any proof that Sasuke and Sakura-chan are an official couple. They disappeared after the wedding before I could talk to them." The blond got down on his knees and clasped his hands together as he started to beg. "Please don't make me do D-rank missions for a month! Sasuke will never let me live it down, and Sakura-chan will-" Tsunade lifted her hand which ceased his apologies.

She sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of her nose and started laughing.

_She's finally snapped and gone insane. I'll be her first victim,_ Naruto thought with terror. Increasing his fright, the female Hokage smirked. "I have no choice but to promote you to jonin rank."

"What?!" Naruto screeched. Did he hear her correctly? How was he getting promoted even though he lost the bet?

"After you left the wedding, Sasuke and Sakura asked me for permission to take a week off from duty to go on a cruise together with Sasuke's parents. Apparently, Fugaku invited them to celebrate the formal introduction of Sasuke and Sakura's courtship to the elders. You won the bet, congratulations." By the end of her explanation, the knucklhead's jaw was practically on the ground. He couldn't believe his luck. He was getting promoted, and his best friends were together!

"Besides, I was going to promote you by the end of the month. You more than proved yourself with your heroic acts during the last war," she added.

Naruto's eyes bulged. He had relentlessly stressed, planned, and schemed for a month for null. What. the. Hell.

"Are you kidding me? I did all of this for nothing?" he questioned.

"Of course not! You're best friends are in a relationship now, and you're being promoted. What's there to be upset about?" Tsunade became visibly annoyed again.

"Ok. You're right. I'm just in shock!" He waved his hands dismissively in surrender. Ultimately, he had gotten what he wanted, so there was no point in getting upset.

Satisfied that Naruto had calmed down, Tsunade smiled.

"As the Godaime of Konoha, I hereby promote you, Naruto Uzumaki, to the rank of jonin. Congratulations!"

**X **

A week had gone by since Naurto's promotion, and he was on cloud nine. Despite his misgivings about Tsunade's underhanded tactics, she had a point. His best friends were finally together after years of flirting, sexual tension, and poorly hidden crushes. Speaking of them, they arrived home an hour ago, according to Tsunade.

He was going to Sakura's apartment to let her know about his promotion and that he knew about her and Sasuke.

The blond nin knocked on her door. He heard giggles and footsteps approaching the door.

"Naruto! I was just going to call you," his pink-haired friend exclaimed in surprise. He grinned brightly at her until his eyes zeroed in on her right hand holding the door. A large diamond set on a gold band occupied her ring finger. His smile faded into a look of confusion then shock.

"Is that?" he asked softly as he pointed to her hand. Sakura blushed and nodded.

"That's why I was going to call. Sasuke-kun proposed to me last night! Isn't it wonderful?" Finally, Naruto smiled at her because he had never seen his female friend so happy.

An arm encircled Sakura's waist, and she looked up to see her finacé.

"Dobe, get inside. You're letting all of the cold air out," he chastised.

When they got inside, Sakura left the boys in the living room so she could prepare some tea and snacks.

"So, care to explain?" Naruto asked with a sly smirk. Sasuke rolled his eyes, but smirked.

"I've known for awhile that I want to spend the rest of my life with Sakura, and the cruise presented an appropriate setting for me to propose." His explanation was devoid of any juicy or romantic details, but that was just how Sasuke was: logical and to the point.

"Congratulations! I'm really happy for you guys!" Naruto patted the Uchiha on back, and added, "I also kind of called this too."

"Whatever dobe. What matters is that I'm engaged. By the way, when are you going to get the ball rolling on proposing to Hinata?" If Sasuke was honest, he was surprised that his friend hadn't already popped the question. He and Hinata had been dating for a significant amount of time, and Naruto was completely enamoured with her.

"Pretty soon actually. I got promoted to jonin last week, so there's nothing stopping me from proposing to Hinata-chan now. It was one one of Hiashi's requirements to propose to her." One of the reasons Naruto had been so set on getting promoted is that Hiashi had stipulated that he needed to be a jonin in order to marry Hinata and join the Hygua clan. He had already purchased the ring months ago, so he was itching to use it.

"Hm. Good for you dobe." Sakura joined the pair with a tray of tea and snacks in tow.

"Did I hear that correctly Naruto? Are you proposing to Hinata soon?!"

"Yeah! Believe it! I already have the ring, and I became a jonin last week. Now, all I have to do is ask and hope she accepts." The usually confident Naruto still had his occasional insecurities, especially when it came to big life decisions. He knew that he could only benefit from marrying his girlfriend, but he had often believed that she could do better. She was the most beautiful, kind-hearted, and gentle woman he had the pleasure of knowing. Not to mention, she was in high social standing as a member of the main Hyuga family.

"Congratulations! And of course she'll say yes baka! She's never been happier since she started dating you." Naruto beamed at Sakura's gentle reminder to be confident.

"You're right! I just can't help being nervous. It's crazy that all of this is happening. Me getting promoted. You guys engaged. Me probably getting engaged."

"It's pretty great. You'll have to let me know ASAP when you propose. Promise?" Sakura was already elated with her own engagement, but she was even more excited that her two long-time friends would be married soon as well. She had always been rooting for Naruto and Hinata because they deserved one another and the happiness a relationship would bring.

"Definitely! After that, we'll have to see who has the best wedding," the jinchuriki challenged.

"There's no competition. Kaa-san will likely plan most of it, and you saw how great my brother's wedding was." Sasuke crossed his arms and glared at his friend. His clan always had the best weddings because they were Uchiha.

"Psh. It's not just about how it looks. A big part is the vows, and I'm much more romantic than you teme." Naruto judged the quality of a wedding based on the romance, and he was much more outwardly romantic than his stoic rival.

"Enough you two! I will not let my wedding become a proxy war for your childish competitiveness." Her stern words and visage silenced the rivals.

"We're kidding Sakura-chan! Both weddings will be equally awesome in different ways. Right, Sasuke?" He glanced warily at his friend hoping his words would assuage their feisty teammate.

"Aa. Don't worry about it, Sakura." He placed a hand on her knee which instantly soothed her. She looked up at him, eyes full of adoration and love. Placing her hand over his, he returned her gaze with equal devotion.

Meanwhile, Naruto looked on at the display and began to feel like he was third wheeling. He awkwardly coughed and announced his leave.

"Um, I've got to head out, but I'll call you tomorrow." His friends were struck out of their love struck stupor.

"Oh, sure! Why don't we just have lunch with the three of us at Ichiraku to celebrate your promotion?" she offered.

"Definitely!" Naruto's eyes lit up with excitement. In his opinion, there was no better way to celebrate things than with Ichiraku.

"After we train in the morning," Sasuke added with a smirk.

"You're on! Bye guys!" Naruto departed the apartment and headed to the bar for a congratulatory drink with Shisui. After he was promoted by Tsunade, he called Shisui back and told him what happened. The body flash nin suggested they meet up for drinks that weekend to celebrate, and Naruto was more than happy to accept the invitation, especially since Hinata was gone on a mission the entire weekend.

"Yo Shisui!" the blond greeted as he walked up to the bar counter.

"Drink?" He handed Naruto a beer, and they toasted to his promotion. Several hours later and several drinks later, Naruto and Shisui became a little more loose lipped.

"I can't believe teme is engaged before me! The guy wouldn't touch a girl a few months ago." In his drunken state, he could admit that he was a bit jealous that his best friend had gotten engaged so quickly and easily, unlike he who had been in a serious relationship much longer and had a strict future-father-in-law as an obstacle.

"That's true. I wonder why he changed?" the Uchiha mused. Sasuke's previous attitude towards women was foreign to Shisui. He couldn't remember a time when he hadn't liked women. They were fascinating creatures. Charming and coy one moment, and then aloof and stubborn the next. He loved a good chase.

Naruto began to chuckle. "Well, I'll tell you why. I set them up without either of them knowing!" Shisui looked at him skeptically.

"You can't tell anyone what I'm about to say. Swear on your Icha Icha copies?"

Shisui nodded fervently.

"Ok. It all started when I bet Baa-chan that if I could get Sasuke and Sakura-chan together in a month, she'd make me a jonin. I tried to see if teme was interested in Sakura and tried to push them together, but nothing was working. So, I figured that I needed to make teme see Sakura as a woman, not just a friend. Which is why I switched the signs on the hot springs and caused him to walk in on Sakura-chan."

Shisui laughed hysterically. "And let me guess, you needed me to make Sasuke jealous to seal the deal?"

The blond grinned and patted him on the back.

"I have to say. I'm impressed Uzumaki. You're a true student of Jiraiya-sama!" The drunken pair continued to laugh until a dark menacing figure appeared behind them and growled.

"Naruto," Sakura spoke evenly.

"Hey, Sakura-chan! Just curious, how much did you hear?" he asked timidly as he slowly turned to face his friend.

"Enough," she seethed as she pulled him by the arm outside the bar. Slapping some money on the counter, Shisui ran back to his apartment as fast as he could. He had a clan meeting tomorrow and couldn't afford to show up hungover and bruised.

In an alleyway near the bar, Sakura interrogated Naruto about his conversation with Shisui.

"I came here to celebrate my engagement with Ino-pig, and then I find out that you instigated the hot springs incident. I was so upset with Sasuke-kun that we might not have gotten together! And not to mention how embarrassing it was!" As Sakura reamed him out, Naruto sat slouched against the brick wall. In his inebriated state, the yelling was giving him a headache. However, It didn't look like she was letting him leave anytime soon.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" she inquired with her hands on her hips as she looked down at her guilty teammate.

"I'm sorry Sakura-chan! Please forgive me! I was only trying to help you!" he pleaded.

"You're finished."

Eventually the blond got to go home, after Sakura disciplined him with her fists. He had been dreading his morning training session with Sasuke because he feared a similar violent reaction to the reveal of his meddling. Surprisingly, his best friend shrugged and told him not to do anything like that again.

The jinchuriki liked to think that Sasuke secretly appreciated the help, but Sasuke really thought that Sakura had punished Naruto enough for the both of them. His bruises were so numerous and large that the Uchiha felt some pity towards him.

He had spoken to his future bride earlier that morning, and she said she would heal the blond idiot over lunch. She didn't want Hinata to be proposed to by a bruised and battered Naruto. Fortunately, Sakura also forgave Naruto after he apologized profusely and paid for her ramen lunch.

** X**

_Epilogue_

One month later, after Sasuke's parents returned from their cruise, Mikoto held a dinner party to commemorate Sasuke taking over as chief of police. The rivals sat on the porch and shared a bottle of sake before food was served.

" It took you long enough, but you finally did it dobe," Sasuke congratulated.

"You're lucky that I took my time. I didn't want my wedding to be so close to yours and overshadow it," he teased as he reclined on his elbow.

"Oh please. We all know who is going to have the best wedding," the raven-haired nin challenged. The pair still made jabs at each other regarding their weddings, but there was no venom behind the remarks.

Sakura sat beside the two and cleared her throat. She had dressed up for the occasion in a form-fitting strapless emerald dress. Her hair was swept into an elaborate updo of curls and braids, and her light makeup accentuated her pink lips and jade eyes. Sasuke gave her a soft smile upon her appearance. His fiancée was nothing short of lovely.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed as he slung an arm around her.

"It's good to see you too," she laughed as she returned the friendly embrace. "Where's Hinata?" she said as she pulled back from the blond.

"She'll be here in a few minutes. She's running a little late from a clan meeting," he explained.

"Good. It would be a shame if she weren't here to celebrate with us!" the kunoichi said in approval. She helped herself to the alcohol and poured herself a cup. "I also can't wait to see the ring!" she gushed.

"The elders will be _thrilled_ to see a Hygua in the clan's main house," Sasuke remarked with a smirk. The other two friends laughed. Annoying the clan elders was a pleasurable pastime for Sasuke. Of course, Itachi was less amused because he took most of the flak as clan head.

"I would like to propose a toast," the blond proclaimed as he raised his glass of sake. The other raised their cups in response.

"To all of us putting down roots and doing awesome things!" Naruto declared.

Their glasses clinked as they all took a moment to appreciate the recent changes in their lives. Naruto and Sasuke had received promotions. The first class of medics from Sakura's groundbreaking training program had graduated. Most notably, each individual was getting married.

Despite the changes and growth, Team 7 would stand strong for their future was full of promises of happiness, joy, and success.

**X**

**Author's note: I can't believe it! I finally finished my first story. Thank you to all of my readers for sticking with me! I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Given recent developments in the US with Coronavirus, I'm going to be at home a lot. However, I have more time for a new, more serious story in the works, so stay tuned! Please stay safe, and feel free to review, fav, and/or follow! **


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